


A Garden in Gotham

by Labyrinth_Runner



Category: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Genre: F/M, Series of one shots set in gotham, florist reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:33:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25341754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Labyrinth_Runner/pseuds/Labyrinth_Runner
Summary: When Roman Sionis becomes enamored with a florist, will Gotham ever be the same?
Relationships: Roman Sionis/Reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 71





	1. A Blossom in the Night

You hadn’t planned on going out that night. It wasn’t your scene. You felt like a fraud in the short skirt, heels, and makeup that your friend had put you in. Like one of the fashion barbies your little sister still played with. Shifting uncomfortably, you looked around the club. Your friend had already skipped off when she saw some more of her friends, leaving you by yourself. You considered leaving. She wouldn’t notice until later anyway and by then you’d have come up with a decent excuse as to why you didn’t want to stay. Right now you were perched on top of a bar stool, but secretly you wanted to fade into the wall like a bird hiding in a mess of ivy. 

Had it been an hour yet? _No_. Fifteen minutes. _Fuck_. You rested your head in your palm and sighed, not knowing that you’d attracted attention to yourself.

“Zsasz, who is she?” Roman asked, looking over the railing and down at the club.

“I don’t know, boss. I haven’t seen her around here before,” Zsasz replied, peaking down at you. 

Roman’s hands tightened on the railing in annoyance. “Well, find out!”

You’d made it to thirty minutes. At this point you could round up and say you’d stayed for an hour. A smirk crossed your face. You finished your drink and slipped out of the seat when someone blocked your path.

“Where do you think you’re going, sweetheart?” Zsasz asked with a smirk.

“Somewhere you’re not,” you shot back. You pushed him out of the way with the back of your hand on his shoulder. 

You missed the look he shot at someone far above you.

Roman smirked, watching the exchange. 

“ _Fiesty_. I like her,” he grinned as he watched you leave the club.

“Well?” he asked, feeling Zsasz at his elbow.

“I got her name off the credit card she used to pay for her drink,” Zsasz informed him.

“Good. I want to know everything about her,” Roman grinned. 

“Why?” Zsasz dared to ask. “She barely lasted an hour. What’s so special about her?”

Roman shook his head. Zsasz never could understand the intricacies of the things he collected. They all had a purpose, from the women he slept with, to his employees, to his shrunken heads. He liked the finer things in life, yes. But, more importantly, he liked the things he knew he shouldn’t have. The ones who didn’t actively try to win him over. They wouldn’t lie to him or bullshit him. As much as he loved being catered to, there was just something nice about someone with a little fight in them. He’d built an Empire. He’d made a name for himself. He wouldn’t have gotten this far without knowing how to fight for it. If he was going to rule over it with someone else... to trust someone with something even more important that his empire- _his heart_ \- then he wanted to know that person would be willing to fight for it. Watching the exchange with Zsasz proved that you had fight in you. So what if you weren’t comfortable in the club? That just meant you wouldn’t be with him for his money. He could live with that. 

He looked over his Eden, the flowers and fruits of his labor. A garden of his creation full of colors as plentiful as the rainbow. It was all nice and well, and he knew he could have any of those flowers that he wanted, but the apple of his eye had just walked out the door. His forbidden fruit. No one told Roman Sionis what to do. He wasn’t just Adam. He was the God of Gotham. He’d take a bite.

After making your way back home, you flopped on your bed. It had been an eventful night. All thirty minutes of it. With a wry smile, you washed off your makeup and changed into a pair of shorts and an oversized shirt. Feeling more in your element, you looked at the bouquet of flowers on your table. They were dying. You’d have to pick up a new bunch from the shop tomorrow out of the reject flowers. With a yawn, you crawled into bed and crashed for the night.

The next morning was a fairly average start. You got to your flower shop, _Gotham’s Garden_ , and set about fulfilling the standing orders that you had for the day so that your employee could deliver them. While you were toiling away, the bell to the front door chimed, signaling a customer’s entrance. 

You customer service smile flitted onto your face, but your heart skipped a beat at the sight of the man in front of you. His suit looked expensive, made of velvet. You wanted to run your hands up it, but you knew better. 

“ _Gotham’s Garden_ , how may I assist you?” you smiled a little more genuinely than you normally would.

His eyes raked over you, sending a shiver down your spine. “Are you the Gardener?”

“I guess so,” you replied breathlessly.

“I’m looking for a bouquet,” he said simply.

You suppressed the urge to laugh. Of course he was looking for a bouquet. This was a flower shop. His intense stare kept your chuckles at bay. “Do you want it to mean anything, or just look nice?”

His eyes widened and an amused look crossed his face. “Flowers can mean something?”

“Of course,” you replied, leaning over the counter in excitement. “Sure, flowers are beautiful, but they all have meanings. Roses usually indicate love, but the color can change that meaning. Some flowers mean remembrance. Some even mean hate. I can make you an arrangement, just tell me what you want it to say.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “How about... ‘I can’t stop thinking about you, you’re unforgettable and I hope this is the start of something great.’”

A blush crossed your face. You had to remind yourself that this wasn’t directed at _you_. After all, he was a stranger. He knew nothing about you.

“Can you do it?” he asked with a smirk.

“Of course. I can do anything you ask,” you replied impulsively.

His eyes darkened as he looked over you. The heat in his gaze made your confidence wilt a bit. Turning your back, you moved to grab a vase and went to the wall of flowers.

“Let’s see... You’re unforgettable could translate to forget-me-nots, because you won’t forget them, and I’m assuming you’re hoping they don’t forget you?”

“Of course. If I remember them, but they forget me, then that would just be disappointing,” he replied.

You bit your lip. You doubted anyone would be able to forget him.

“And...” you tapped your chin thoughtfully, balancing the base on your hip as you looked at the options. “ _Daffodils_. They symbolize new beginnings.”

You arranged them thoughtfully, adding a few fluffs of green before wrapping it up for him. He paid and you handed him the flowers. His hand grazed over yours, his leather glove a shot straight to your core. 

“Thank you,” he murmured, looking into your eyes. “Finding someone as lovely as you in a place such as Gotham is like finding a blossom in the night.”

“Moonflowers,” you replied softly.

“What do those mean, darling?”

“Out of darkness comes creativity.”

His gaze was intense, and you wanted to drown in him. Your heart clenched. Whoever was getting those flowers was a lucky woman.

“Thank you, again,” he repeated with a nod before leaving.

You looked down at the name on the receipt. _Roman Sionis._

_Ro_ man inhaled the scent of the flowers as he rode back to his apartment in the backseat of his car.

“She’s just a florist,” Zsasz stated as they got back to his apartment.

“She’s an _artist_ ,” Roman corrected. “She paints with flowers.”

“Flowers die.”

“Not all art is permanent,” Roman murmured as he placed the flowers in a vase. He placed the vase on his desk and smiled at it. _I could dry the flowers_ , he thought. _Then they’d be here forever._

“We’re going back tomorrow, aren’t we?” Zsasz sighed.

“Of course we’re going back tomorrow! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next,” he smiled. Oh, he was going to have fun with you.


	2. In the Eye of the Beholder

It had been a couple of weeks since you had first met that man, but he kept coming back. Every morning like clock-work, he’d stroll into your shop and order another bouquet. Every time a different meaning. Your heart skipped a beat every time you touched as you passed payment or flowers to each other. The way he smiled at you made your knees weak. Whoever was receiving these flowers was a _very_ lucky woman, you thought. Part of you wished it was _you_. Sure, you work with flowers every day, but to have someone bring you a personal bouquet _every_ day… _to be adored like that_ … one could only dream.

* * *

This morning, you were making arrangements for a charity ball hosted by Wayne Enterprises, Inc. It was a prestigious ball. You were keen to deliver these arrangements personally, wanting a glimpse at how the other half lived. You didn’t want a life like that, but you were always curious about the kinds of people who had everything. Part of you wondered if they were truly happy in their castles surrounded by their belongings. You were so engrossed in your musings that you hadn’t heard the bell chime.

“Those are beautiful, darling,” a voice called out.

You jumped a bit, blushing. “Mr. Sionis, you caught me off guard.”

“What are those for?” he asked curiously.

“A charity ball later this evening,” you informed him, stepping back to wipe your hands on your apron.

“Ah, yes, when the rich pretend for an evening to care about the poor. How quaint,” he grinned awkwardly.

“What are your thoughts on charity?” you asked curiously.

“Oh, darling, you don’t want me to bore you with that,” he grinned as you came over to lean on the counter. In truth, he didn’t think you’d enjoy what he thought of charity. As someone who had to build his own empire, he was of the mindset that it should be every man for himself. Or at least… that’s what _Zsasz_ always encouraged.

You smiled softly at him. “What are you trying to say today?”

“I want to ask her on a date,” he told you seriously.

“You haven’t done so yet?” you chuckled. “You’ve been buying flowers for her every day. I’m sure that she’ll say yes. She’d be incredibly stupid not to.”

You turned your back to him as you perused the flowers on the wall. “Lilies? No… Roses? No, that’s too heavy-handed,” you murmured to yourself. Your eyes settled on the irises, going over to pick up a handful of the purple flower, placing them in the carrying basket. Your eyes swept over the wall once more, lighting up on the black-eyed Susans. Color theory kicking in, yellow and purple were complimentary colors. _Yes_ , you thought, _those should pair nicely._ Next, you picked up some of the filler greens to fluff out the bouquet before bringing the basket back to your work station.

“What do those stand for?” he asked.

“Irises stand for hope, because you’re hoping she’ll say yes. Black-eyed Susans represent encouragement. You’re encouraging her to take that next step with you,” you explained while your hands worked.

“You truly are an artist,” he grinned, causing you to blush scarlet.

“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” you murmured, hoping your words were heard over the thumping of your heart in your chest.

“Nonsense, flowers are your medium, and you create works of art,” he pressed. “Never discount that.”

“My art is fleeting,” you replied with a sad smile. “All flowers die at some point. They lose their beauty.”

“Not if you dry them,” he commented.

You peaked over at him. “Who has the time for that?”

“Someone who truly values the flower,” he murmured. Somehow you felt as though he wasn’t talking about flowers.

After tying the bouquet up with a bow, you walked over and handed it to him in exchange for his credit card.

“She’s lucky,” you blurted, looking at the screen of your card system, before sheepishly adding, “or at least really special if you buy flowers for her every day.”

“You are,” he said pointedly.

Your eyes flicked up to his. “What?”

“There is no other woman,” he smiled, “I keep coming back for you.”

“But all of those bouquets, and the _meanings_ …”

“Were about you,” he repeated, holding the bouquet out to you with a charming smile. “Will you go out with me?”

Your mouth went dry. The various bouquets flipped through your mind, all those meanings were about you? He liked _you_? “I… I don’t know what to say,” you stammered.

“Well, _hopefully_ these flowers will _encourage_ you to say yes,” he grinned. His hand was shaking. Was he nervous?

“Yes,” you replied, reaching out to steady his hand, smoothing over his leather gloves. “Yes, I’ll go out with you.”

Relief washed over his face as you took the bouquet with your free hand, still holding his hand with the other. “Great, I’ll pick you up here after you close.”

“But, will I have to change? Is this acceptable?” you asked, looking down at your jeans and t-shirt.

“Don’t worry about that,” he grinned, taking your hand up to his lips to kiss across your knuckles. “I’ll take care of you.”

You watched in awe as he turned to leave, ringing the bell as he exited. After his car pulled away from the curb, you bent down to smell the bouquet, holding them tightly. You had it bad.

“Well, boss, how’d it go?” Zsasz asked in a bored tone as Roman looked down at the glove that had held your hand.

“She said yes,” he said, smiling softly.

They made it back to the apartment and Roman did a slight dance of glee.

“Does this mean we can get rid of all of these flowers?” Zsasz asked with a grin.

“Of course not!”

“Boss, they’re taking over the loft. It’s making it seem less… intimidating.”

“I don’t care, Zsasz. I collect art. Those bouquets are art.”

“But, they’re replacing the heads,” Zsasz sighed exasperatedly.

“So? These look much nicer. Not to mention, they smell better, too,” Roman said, raising an eyebrow at him, daring him to challenge him.

Zsasz backed down. “It’s your loft, boss.”

“Yes, it is, Zsasz,” he said in exasperation. “Just as she will be mine.”

“Is _she_ going to be yours, or are you going to be _hers_?” Zsasz asked pointedly.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Roman asked, eyes ablaze.

Zsasz shrugged. “I’ve got business downstairs to take care of.”

Roman scowled as he walked away. “Of course she’ll be mine. It’ll be a cold day in Gotham when a woman owns Roman Sionis.”

Zsasz smiled to himself as he heard that. _Good_. The boss wasn’t losing his touch.

The rest of the day went smoothly. You dropped the arrangements off at the ball, in awe of the blatant display of opulence at an event meant to give money to the less fortunate. By the time you got back to the shop, your employees had closed the shop, so all you had to do was wait for Roman.

The car showed up minutes after you did. It was so odd to not take public transportation or a cab. The ride was silent as the driver sized you up in the mirror. You felt incredibly self-conscious, and incredibly grateful when the ride was over. However, when you found yourself in front of the club from the other day, you were confused.

“Are we at the right place?” you asked the driver.

He smirked. “Yes, sweetheart. Go inside and tell the bartender you’re here for the boss.”

_The boss._

Your legs were wobbly as you made your way into the club. _Who_ had you agreed to go on a date with?

The bartender picked up the phone after you told him who you were there for. A man with scars that you recognized as the guy who had given you a bit of trouble came up to you. “Follow me.”

Unease settled in the pit of your stomach as you followed him up the stairs and into an apartment.

“He’ll be out soon,” was all the man said before disappearing.

You walked down the main hall, pausing when you saw bouquets on pedestals. _Your_ bouquets. He had kept them all. They were all in various stages of drying out. On the desk up ahead was the first bouquet you had given him. Footsteps sounded down the hall, tapping on the floor as they got closer.

“You kept them,” you murmured as he came up behind you. You looked over your shoulder at him.

“Of course. They’re works of art. I’m a bit of a collector,” he grinned.

You turned fully to take him in. He was in another one of his velvet suits. Hesitantly, you reached out to place your hands on his chest, running them up like you’d been wanting to do since the day you met him. The air was charged as he looked down at you, eyes darkening with a dangerous glint.

Roman bit back an admonishment. Normally he didn’t like it when people touched him without permission. Zsasz always told him he needed to make an example out of people who didn’t respect boundaries. But… he didn’t want to stop you. It was like you were exploring. It intrigued him. No one had ever looked at him like they didn’t already know everything about him, like they weren’t already afraid of him. But, not you. You weren’t afraid. You saw him like a normal person. You saw him as he was, not the image he’d built for himself. Hesitantly, he took a step back.

“I have an outfit for you,” he murmured.

“I thought you said this was fine?” you asked in confusion.

“I said I’d take care of it,” he corrected, taking your hand.

He led you over to his guest room where he had a few dresses laid out for you.

“Mr. Sionis, I can’t wear these,” you murmured.

“Roman, darling. Call me Roman, and you most certainly can,” he said, leaving to let you change.

You ran your hands along the fabrics. They were all so finely made. All so expensive. You would never have been able to afford one of these things yourself. You settled on the flowing silver dress. It was the least extravagant, which wasn’t saying much. You looked like a cross between an angel and a goddess, and took a moment to do your hair to match before leaving your clothes neatly folded on the bed. Somehow you felt like a different person, but not in a good way. You practically glided into the next room.

“You look gorgeous,” he breathed. “Turn around.”

You awkwardly spun. He may have thought you looked beautiful, and sure, you had to admit that you _did_ look nice, but you felt fake. You didn’t belong in these clothes. They weren’t _you_.

He clapped as you stopped. “Splendid. Shall we?”

“Shall we, what?” you asked.

“Go on our date,” he smiled.

You nodded, shifting uncomfortably. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? After all, as long as you were with Roman, everything would be okay.


	3. A Lotus in a Murky Pond

Roman had the driver take you to the fanciest restaurant in town. You shifted uncomfortably in the car as you talked about things like your favorite movies. He was into horror and action, but you were into romantic comedies. However, when you mentioned your favorite movie, his eyes sparked in recognition even though he said he hadn’t seen it. Was he lying to you? Perhaps he thought that not liking things like that made him more of a man, but you didn’t care. If anything, you preferred having someone who would enjoy watching your favorite movies with you. 

He opened the door for you when you reached your destination. You had to blush a bit, he was much more of a gentlemen than any of the other men you had dated. You knew you were dressed to impress and fit in with the crowd in this restaurant, but you felt like a fraud. Carefully, you looked over the menu as Roman ordered a bottle of wine that cost more than your daily flower budget. Part of you looked at the prices when deciding what to order, not wanting to be a burden.

“I think I might get a salad,” you murmured.

“Darling, get whatever you want,” he replied. 

“I think the bill here might end up being more than my utilities combined,” you joked.

He reached across the table and took your hand in his, gently running his thumb over your knuckles. “Let me spoil you. Relax.”

You forced a smile and nodded, deciding on something you actually wanted. Dinner actually went well. You chatted about everything and anything under the sun. He was charming, you had to admit, and being with him almost put you at ease. Almost. 

When dinner was over, you expected to just go home, but instead you ended up at the very same charity ball that you had arranged flowers for earlier that day.

“Roman, you were invited to this?” you asked as he walked up the steps into the event center.

“Wayne and I go back,” he grimaced.

Gently, he led you into the gala. Immediately, you felt the stares of everyone. Was Roman really such a big deal in these parts? Who were you dating? Their stares bore into you, sizing you up and measuring you against some upper class checklist that you knew you would come up against as lacking. Roman either didn’t seem to notice, or he just didn’t care. He led you into the middle of the dance floor.

“Roman, what are you doing?” you asked, panicking slightly.

“Dancing with my date,” he replied pointedly.

The music was a waltz. You weren’t _that_ uncultured. You’d seen the Princess Diaries as a kid. Still, you didn’t quite know how to dance it. Her feet in the movie had been under a huge ball gown. She could have been doing the cotton-eyed joe under there for all you knew. It was no surprise then, that you immediately stepped on Roman’s foot by accident. He let out a slight noise of displeasure and grimaced, causing you to wince.

“I’m so sorry!” you apologized, covering your mouth with your hands, concern was apparent in your eyes.

“Darling, how about I lead? Kay?” he smirked.

You nodded, replacing your hands on his shoulder and in his. Gracefully, he led you through the dance. For a moment, it was almost as if the rest of the world fell away. It was just the two of you in this world on your own. You were drowning in his eyes as they watched you so intensely. 

“They’re judging me,” you murmured, looking down at the ground to watch your feet. 

Gently, he tipped your chin back up to him. “Eyes on me, darling. So what if they do? They may have material wealth, but you have wealth of character. Don’t let them discount that.”

A small smile formed on your face at that. “Do you really think that?”

“Of course. Now, tell me, what flower means wealth?” he asked curiously, a smile on his face. He knew he was doing. He was trying to get you to feel more at home so that you would relax and enjoy yourself.

“A Lotus,” you murmured.

“They can grow in some pretty murky ponds,” he smiled.

“Can’t get any murkier than Gotham,” you chuckled.

“No,” he sighed. “I suppose you can’t.”

He had a faraway look on his face then. You’d sent him away from you into a world of his own devising and you weren’t quite sure how to get him back. He was waltzing on autopilot. When the music stopped, you leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “Come back to me.”

He blinked slightly, eyes refocusing on you. “I’m sorry. I... I don’t know what came over me,” he murmured. “Perhaps we should get going.”

You nodded, feeling a shift in the evening. “Alright.”

The ride back home was a little silent. You didn’t know what was going on in the turbulent storms of his mind. You didn’t know how your comment on Gotham being murky had sent him spiraling. He had begun to wonder if this could work. You were a precious flower, and he... well, he was one of the reasons that Gotham was so murky. Perhaps he might even be the murkiest of them all. What right did he have to drag you from the sunlight at the top into the dangerous depths of the water below. You wouldn’t survive under the water. People couldn’t appreciate your beauty if they couldn’t see it in the darkness.

“Roman, how do you want me to return this outfit?” you asked.

“Keep it,” he replied absentmindedly.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly-”

“Keep the dress!” he snapped, taking in your shocked expression before sighing. “Look, you look lovely in it. It would be a shame for me to deprive the world of ever seeing such a vision as this again.”

You blushed slightly as the car pulled up in front of your apartment building.

“Walk me to my door?” you asked hopefully.

“Of course,” he smiled, recovering from his outburst. 

You held his hand as he walked you up the stairs and into the building. You made your way to the door of your apartment. “Well, this is me,” you murmured.

“So it seems.”

“Look, Roman,” you sighed. “I won’t lie to you, I was a little uncomfortable tonight. But, it didn’t have anything to do with you. It’s just... your world.”

“My world?” he asked, sagging a bit.

“I feel like I don’t belong,” you clarified. “But when its just us talking, I like it. _I like you_.” You took both his hands in yours. “And... if I didn’t fuck tonight up too much, I’d love to go out with you again next weekend... but I get to plan the date. It’ll be something a little more my speed if you’re alright with that.”

He brightened like a child handed a cookie. “I’d love that.”

Tentatively, you reached out and cupped the side of his face. A blush settled into your face when he leaned into your touch, almost as if he craved it. Slowly, you leaned forward and pressed your lips to his. He kissed back softly, causing you to chuckle.

“What?” he asked in annoyance.

“Nothing. It’s just... I didn’t picture you as someone who held back,” you grinned, biting your lip.

“You want me to let go?” he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Roman, if we’re going to do this, I want to go all in. Give me all of you, and I’ll give you all of me,” you smiled.

He nodded, taking both sides of your face in his hands and kissing you fiercely as he pushed you into the wall next to your door. You were breathless by the time he pulled away.

“Good night, Roman,” you breathed.

“Good night darling.”

He watched you disappear into your apartment before doing a little dance in the hall. Roman made his way back to the car and slipped into the back seat.

“Sorry, boss, you tried,” Zsasz said with a smirk.

“Why are you apologizing?” Roman asked in confusion.

“Because your date went so poorly. I know how badly you wanted this to work out,” Zsasz said in mock sympathy.

“And it did work out. We’re going out again next weekend. She’s planning the date,” he grinned in glee.

Zsasz suppressed a frustrated groan. You were proving to be more trouble than he thought.


	4. Mum's the Word

He came to see you every day that week. The amount of flowers he was amassing was almost silly. 

“Roman, you don’t have to keep buying flowers from me,” you chuckled as he came in on Saturday morning.

“Why would I stop?” he asked in confusion.

“Because soon your apartment will be over run with flowers,” you smiled, leaning your arms on the counter. “You’ve already wooed me. You don’t have to keep doing this.”

He smirked and leaned his arms on his side of the counter, leaning forward to bump his nose against yours. “The day I stop wooing is the day I lose interest.”

You felt a blush creep up your face and your mouth went dry. “In that case, I hope you never stop.”

* * *

Roman smiled at you before peeking over your shoulder at the wall of flowers. “So, what do we have to say today?”

With a shake of your head, you bit your lip and turned back to the wall. “I’ll surprise you.”

“I don’t know if I like surprises,” he said darkly.

“Nonsense, that’s the businessman in you talking,” you replied cheerfully. When you noticed his expression hadn’t changed your brow furrowed and you asked softly, “Surely this isn’t just a business transaction to you?”

His eyes widened in shock. “No! Of course not!”

“Good,” you breathed a sigh of relief.

He checked his watch and sighed. “I’ve got to go, darling. I have a meeting across town by the docks. I’ll see you later for our date.”

“Alright, Roman. I’ll bring the flowers later. On _me_ this time. You’ve bought enough,” you smiled, watching him leave the shop. After the door closed behind him, you allowed yourself to deflate. The docks of Gotham weren’t a pleasant place to be. What was he doing _there_?

You sighed, figuring that he’d tell you more about himself in time. A sneaking suspicion was creeping into your mind that there was more about him than what he was willing to show you. He couldn’t be so bad that he would have to lie about himself, could he? Although, every now and then you’d catch glimpses of things that were out of place. Of anger, or frustration... a general guardedness within him. Those parts piqued a sense of danger in you... but also of interest. There was definitely more to Roman than meets the eye. You thought back to his little henchman who followed him around like a shadow, almost like a demon from his mind made flesh. Roman was different around Zsasz than he was with you. The burning question that came to mind was simply: Which Roman was the _real_ one? You doubted that you’d find an answer to that any time soon. Shaking yourself from your thoughts, you turned back to your work orders for the day.

“No flowers today, boss?” Zsasz smirked. “Are we over this chick already?” Zsasz could only hope.

“No. She’s bringing them later for our date. She wanted to surprise me,” Roman sighed as he settled into the seat.

“Surprise? You hate surprises,” Zsasz shot back.

“Yes, but she made a good point. I hate surprises in business. Our relationship isn’t business,” Roman replied thoughtfully. In truth, he didn’t know _what_ to classify the two of you as yet.

“Yeah, well, don’t let her change you, boss. You’re fine just the way you are,” Zsasz said.“The day a woman changes Roman Sionis is the day that Gotham freezes over.”

Roman mulled that over for a moment. Ever since you entered his life, he’d felt happier. However, he didn’t think that the changes occurring were _your_ doing. Sure, your flowers were taking over his apartment, but that was his choice. You never asked him to change. _He_ wanted to change, for you, because of you. Some insecure part of him was afraid that you wouldn’t love the life he lived if you knew. You were many things, but it was apparent that the crime life wasn’t one that you would ever be inclined to lead. He knew that. That was why he hid this side from you. This was all he’d ever known, and yet, a part of him wondered what life would be like if he didn’t do this.

The car pulled up outside an abandoned warehouse. He slipped his mask out of the center console. For once, it didn’t spark joy as he looked at it. Instead, it just reminded him that even he wore a mask. He just didn’t know these days if he wore a mask around you... or around Zsasz. His gaze flicked to Zsasz who was grinning at him.

“Ready, boss?”

He looked back down at the mask. Infected by Zsasz’s demeanor, he felt a rush of excitement. Roman slipped on the mask. “Let’s do this.”

You finished the rest of your orders for the day and started on your bouquet for Roman. With a stroke of your chin, you started to pull flowers from the wall into the basket. “Pink Chrysanthemums... blue hyacinths... and white camellias,” you murmured thoughtfully as you finished gathering flowers. Carefully, you placed the basked on your table and started to build your bouquet. When it was done, you tied it off with a bow. Then, you said goodbye to your staff for the afternoon and went home to get ready for your date.

There was a fair bit of things to do. After the very fancy date that Roman took you on last time, you wanted to show him the other side of the coin. You built a picnic for the two of you, planning to spend the afternoon with him in Robinson Park. There was a spot by the pond that you knew would be the perfect place for a picnic. After packing the food and drinks in the basket, you placed the flowers on top. Then, you found a blanket and folded it. Now, you were ready to go. Deciding to really have a relaxed date, you walked to his place, going into the club despite the weird looks you were given and continuing up the stairs to his apartment.

Roman was surprised when he opened the door. “Darling, what have you got there?” he asked in amusement.

“Its for our date,” you smiled. “I planned a picnic in the park.”

Zsasz snorted from his hiding spot in the kitchen.

“That sounds lovely,” Roman smiled, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. You could tell that he was uncomfortable. You looked down at his suit and tilted your head.

“You might want to change. I wouldn’t want you to get your clothes dirty,” you murmured.

“I think I’d rather wear this,” he said with a strained smile. “Zsasz, bring the car around.”

“Actually....” you murmured. “I was hoping we could walk there? It’s not too far, and it’s a beautiful day out.”

Roman swallowed. “Right. Never mind, Zsasz.”

Zsasz had a weird look of glee in his eyes, thinking about his boss walking around the dirty streets of Gotham. Oh, he could taste the victory of getting rid of _you_.

With a sigh, Roman offered you his arm and the two of you made your way down to the street.

“If you’re uncomfortable, we can do something else,” you said softly as you reached the end of the street.

Roman sighed, turning to face you. “You were uncomfortable last week. It’s only fair that I’m uncomfortable this week. Besides, there’s nothing Roman Sionis can’t do.”

Gently, you tipped up on your toes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”

A slight blush crossed his face at the tenderness. “Y-yes, well, let’s get going. Let me have the basket. I can’t make you carry it all that way.”

You chuckled and gave him the basket to carry. You then laced your hand with his and started to lead him towards the park. On the way there, you pointed out the various flowers growing in window boxes. When you weren’t discussing flowers, you were discussing childhood stories as you passed by museums and restaurants. Finally, you reached the perfect picnic destination that you had picked out.

With a flourish, you took the blanket off the top of the basket and spread it on the ground. You plopped down and patted the spot next to you for him to join you. After a moment’s hesitation, he sat next to you and moved to peak into the basket.

“So, what do we have here? Caviar? Wine? Charcuterie?” he asked.

You chuckled as you pulled out it’s contents. “Water, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, and some cookies that I made.”

He let out a sigh. “Well, we can’t have fine dining always, can we?”

“Hey, they were made with love!” you said in mock offense.

“Oh, I’m sure they were,” he chuckled as he took a sandwich that you gave him.

“You’re lucky I didn’t say we were getting a hot dog from a vendor,” you smirked.

“Of course we couldn’t do that. We have to save _something_ for the next date,” he joked as you took a sip of water.

He made you laugh, causing you to choke on the water. His eyes widened as he took the water from you, gently rubbing your back until your coughing subsided.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Just don’t make a habit out of almost killing people,” you smirked.

His face fell. “No, of course not. That would be bad.”

“Hey... I’m okay,” you reassured, cupping his cheek. He winced at the touch, not quite used to it and gently took your hand from his face.

“Our sandwiches will get cold,” he said with as sad smile.

You nodded and the two of you ate in silence for a moment before you remembered the flowers.

“I almost forgot! These are for you,” you said with a bright smile as you handed him the bouquet.

His hands were reverent as he took them and brought it up to his nose to breath in their scent. His eyes closed as he smiled. “These are beautiful. What do they mean?”

“Well, chrysanthemums mean optimism and joy. Hyacinths symbolize playfulness, like our current date, and white camellias symbolize adoration.”

“Are you saying that I’m adorable or that you adore me?” he asked with a smirk.

“I’ll leave that up for viewer interpretation,” you teased.

“I love them,” he smiled as he reached for a cookie.

Soon enough, your picnic was over.

“Well, this was fun,” Roman said earnestly.

“There’s more to the date than just this,” you smiled.

“ _More_? I don’t know how much more I can handle,” he chuckled.

“Well, there are sail boats that you can rent to pilot around the pond. I thought we could do that for a bit,” you said hopefully.

“That sounds like fun,” he replied, helping you clean up the picnic. 

The two of you made your way over to the rental hut to get your boats and placed them in the water.

“I used to do this all the time with my dad when I was younger,” you murmured as you steered your boat in circles around his.

“I always wanted to do this, but my family never really had the time for it. I remember driving by and seeing families here and wondering what it would be like,” he softly said. 

You noticed that he was having trouble steering his ship and was growing frustrated, jamming the controls roughly with his thumbs. Gently, you went up next to him and placed your hands over his, explaining how it worked and teaching him how to do it. His frustration evaporated and he kissed your forehead.

“Thank you, darling,” he smiled as he got the hang of it. You spent the rest of your rental time racing around the pond or doing loops around each other’s boats.

“Now what?” he asked after you returned the boats.

“Well, there is a swing set over there,” you replied playfully. “I’ll race you.”

“Isn’t that a little childish?” he asked.

“You can ponder that while I win,” you smirked before taking off.

“That’s cheating!” he called after you as he started to run. 

You had to laugh at the sight of a full grown man in a suit running to a playground. He caught up to you, picking you up around the middle and spinning you around. You let out a cry of delight.

“Roman!”

 _“Cheating is naughty_ ,” he purred in your ear.

You bit your lip in response, trying to stifle a moan that threatened to come out.

He set you back down on the ground and you placed the basket next to the swings while you got on and started to swing. With a shake of his head, he joined you on the one next to you. 

“I haven’t done this in years,” he grinned as he swung higher and higher.

“You’ve relaxed,” you commented.

He turned to look at you and raised a brow. “Yes, I suppose I have. I’ll admit, I was skeptical about this date when you came over, but I’m enjoying myself. Perhaps life isn’t all about the finer things. After all, we’ve only spent about twenty dollars on this date and it’s the most fun I’ve had in months.”

“Good. I’m glad,” you smiled before jumping off the swing and sticking the landing.

Roman tried to jump as well, but he was so high that he couldn’t stick the landing. Instead, he landed on his stomach with his shirt in a small patch of mud. He let out a groan.

“Roman!” You exclaimed as you quickly knelt beside him. “Roman, are you okay?”

You smoothed some hair out of his face, concern creasing your brow.

He groaned as he sat up. “I’m fine. My ego’s more bruised than I am.”

“Oh, Roman, your shirt,” you murmured, taking in the mud patch. 

He grimaced. “Lovely.”

You noticed a shirt vendor cart out of the corner of your eye and gently checked his shirt size. 

“Wait here,” you told him, kissing his nose. 

Roman watched you leave in confusion. He’d just fallen and your first instinct was to run away? That wasn’t good. He started to get annoyed, but then he noticed that you had come back with a shirt and his anger vanished.

“You got me a shirt?” he asked softly.

“Of course! I know you wouldn’t want to walk around with a muddy shirt on,” you replied, handing him the white garment that said ‘I <3 Gotham.’

He chuckled at the shirt, thinking it was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever seen, but he loved it, because _you_ bought it for him. “I think I saw a bathroom by the pond. I’ll go change and then we can head back.”

You nodded, walking over with him. You plopped down on a bench outside to wait for him. The date hadn’t quite gone as you had planned, but it had still been a good day. When Roman emerged, he did a small spin to show off his shirt.

“Well? How do I look?” he grinned.

“I think it will be all the rage in Paris next year. They’ll call it the Sionis and everyone will want to wear it,” you teased.

He waved you off. “Very funny, darling. Let’s get you home.”

The walk back to your house was a lot lighter than the walk from his apartment earlier. You chatted about fun date ideas like the one you had today, and things that he liked to do that you would be comfortable doing. Soon enough, you’d settled on an idea for your next date as you pulled up to your building. You fished around in your basket for his flowers and handed them to him.

“Good night,” he smiled. “I had a lot of fun today. Thank you for all of this.”

“You’re welcome,” you beamed. Hesitantly, you touched his cheek again. He didn’t wince this time. Instead, he leaned slightly into it. “Let me know when you get home so I know you made it there safely. The streets aren’t safe at night.”

Roman nodded before tipping your chin up and kissing you softly. “I’ll talk to you later.”

You slipped away and into your home.

Roman sighed as the door closed behind you. He could call Zsasz to pick him up. _Or_... he could walk. He hadn’t been on a walk on his own in so long. Carefully, he made his way back to the club, smiling at the flowers in his hand. He knew he looked silly, in a suit with his new t-shirt and holding flowers. He definitely didn’t look like the King of Gotham’s Underbelly that he actually was. But, he didn’t care. He was falling hard and fast, and he was realizing that maybe... maybe he had been so miserable because he never really wanted the life he had. Spending the day with you had opened his eyes to the lighthearted fun that he was missing out on. He could never tell Zsasz this, though. _This_... this would have to be his own secret. Something he kept to himself. At least for now until he figured out what he wanted. Until then, mum’s the word.

He made his way up to his apartment, finding Zsasz in the kitchen. Roman rooted around for another vase as Zsasz laughed at his shirt.

“Woah, boss, what happened to you?” he asked incredulously.

“Oh, fell off a swing set,” he replied, waving him off as he arranged the flowers.

 _A swing set,_ Zsasz thought, _she got him in a playground? She **has** to go._

“Well, I’m sure she doesn’t know how a person of your caliber should be treated,” Zsasz said dismissively.

“No,” Roman smirked, “But, she sure knows how to have fun. I like that about her.” He made his way back to his room and placed the flowers next to his bed so that he had something pretty to wake up to in the morning.


	5. Trust in Me

Every week was a new adventure with Roman as the two of you got closer. After two months of dating, you felt like you were truly getting to know each other. You were comfortable together. It was easy almost, and that thought was enough to give you pause. Surely your doubts from when you’d first started dating couldn’t have been _that_ unfounded? You’d caught dangerous glimpses of temper every now and then underneath the shifting mask of his face. They were quickly squelched, but that didn’t make you notice them any less. Those instances usually were whenever he was around Zsasz, though. When it was just the two of you... he seemed more at ease. A different Roman emerged then. A softer Roman, like a flower that only bloomed under a perfect storm of conditions. His delicate temperament had come as a bit of a shock, especially in contrast to the hard persona he projected with his business. Yet, things were progressing smoothly between the two of you. 

That was... until you were offered a lucrative opportunity courtesy of Bruce Wayne. He had been so impressed with your work at his charity ball that he wanted to see what your vision would be with a new community garden that he wanted to build in the heart of Gotham. You’d jumped at the chance to work with some of the city’s best architects to design what would truly be your version of an Eden in such a hell as Gotham. A place where people could escape to the beauty of a world of your design when the world outside had gotten too dark. You were thrilled. The only downside to the project was how much time it consumed. You found yourself working longer days and nights between running the shop and working on the garden. This meant less time that you had to spend with Roman. 

Roman had taken to spending time in his apartment, surrounded by his various vases of drying flowers when he missed you. That worked well enough to placate him for the first week that you were too busy to see him outside of the shop. After all, he still stopped by every morning. But, then you were given the permit to start planting and then you were at the shop less and less. He’d sent you text messages when you were on lunch, and sometimes he’d have someone bring you dinner if he knew you were working late.

Zsasz was pleased at this development. 

“Boss, if she can’t make time for you, then maybe she’s seeing someone else?” he said one day, leaning over the edge of the booth that Roman was sitting in.

“Nonsense, Zsasz. If she had lost interest, she would have told me. She’s very straightforward in that regard. Besides... we have a connection,” Roman murmured.

“Connections fade, boss,” Zsasz sighed, patting him on the shoulder. 

“Maybe.... maybe it wouldn’t hurt to make sure?” Roman asked.

Zsasz grinned. “No, I think that’s what I would do if my girl stopped spending time with me. I’d have to make sure that there wasn’t some other dude.”

Roman sighed, resolve settling in. Maybe Zsasz was right. Besides, he didn’t think he’d find anything, so what could the harm be? He nodded to Zsasz. “Tomorrow we’ll tail her.”

“I’ll let the driver know.”

The next day, you were meeting with Bruce Wayne for lunch. It felt surreal, but he wanted to know how the garden was progressing, and to go over some changes to the budget. He invited you to a swanky restaurant uptown that you felt very underdressed for, but he didn’t seem to mind. What you didn’t see, was Roman’s car parked across the street. He was watching you intently, hands tightening when your hands brushed over Mr. Wayne’s as you went to take the budget sheet. When lunch was over, Mr. Wayne escorted you to the car, driving with you to the garden. 

Once at the site, you walked him through your vision, showing the little progress that you and Piero, your architect, had made. Mr. Wayne was impressed, and that made you smile. Your dreams were all coming true. You couldn’t wait to tell Roman about your day when you saw him later. You had worked out your schedule to take the night off since you were so far ahead of the game. It was going to be a surprise. Just a quiet night in, the two of you, his favorite pizza, and a movie. The thought was the only thing that had gotten you through the week.

When Mr. Wayne left, Piero picked you up in excitement and spun you around.

“We did it, ma chérie!” he grinned, placing you back down. “I’ll finish installing the fairy lights tonight so that you can show your love all the progress you’ve made next week when the roses come in.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” you smiled, wrapping your arm around his waist as the two of you looked out over the space. You could see it in your head, and it was magnificent. You saw something weird, though. Roman’s car. He was parked across the street, and he was watching you through the window of the car.

“Excuse me,” you murmured, the smile dripping from your face. You made your way across the street, sneaking up behind the car and knocking on the window.

Roman jumped, eyes flicking up to yours. “O-oh! Hello, darling.”

“Roman, what are you doing here?” you asked in confusion.

“Oh, I was just in the area...” he trailed off.

“You could’ve come to say hi,” you replied.

“You seemed busy,” he said in disgust.

It clicked for you in that moment. Roman Sionis was _jealous_. 

“There’s nothing between me and Piero,” you said adamantly.

“Oh, so that’s his name? What about Wayne? The two of you seemed fairly chummy at lunch,” he shot back.

Lunch? How did he know about lunch? Your eyes widened in shock. “You _followed_ me?” you gasped. You were hurt. 

“Well, of course I followed you. I haven’t seen you in so long. I had to know,” he replied, not seeing the problem.

“You’re unbelievable, Roman!” You shouted. “I bet you’re not even sorry about it,” you replied in disgust. You shook your head and started to walk away.

“Of course I’m not sorry!” he shouted back. “Why would I be? I was making sure you weren’t doing anything behind my back.”

You stiffened in the middle of the sidewalk and turned back to him. “ ‘ _Why would I be?’”_ you repeated in anger. “Roman, you betrayed my trust! If you trusted me, then you would know that i would never do anything behind your back that would hurt you.”

“I do trust you,” Roman replied, getting out of the car to walk towards you.

“No, Roman, you don’t. If you trusted me, then you wouldn’t have followed me around,” you replied sadly. 

He reached out for you. “Darling...”

“No,” you murmured, stepping back from him. “Roman, I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me.”

“What are you saying?” he asked.

“I’m saying... I think we should take a break,” you said, trying to keep your voice from wavering.

“Darling, you can’t really mean that.”

“Good bye, Roman,” you replied, returning back to work. You had a garden to build.

Roman watched dumbfounded as you left. No one ever walked away from Roman Sionis. He got in the car and drove back home. He looked at all the vases in his apartment. He wanted to smash them, but they were works of art. He couldn’t do that.

“Who does she think she is, Zsasz?” he asked angrily. “No one walks away from Roman Sionis! No one!”

His words were angry, but in truth he was just masking the hurt.

“No one does if they want to live,” Zsasz grinned.

He looked at Zsasz in horror. “I’m not going to _kill_ her, Zsasz.”

“R-right, boss,” he replied. “Forget I said it.”

“I just... I don’t understand it. I do trust her. I wouldn’t date her if I didn’t. Yet, she threw the relationship back in my face,” he groaned in frustration. “I’m so tired of being rejected, Zsasz! I’m sick of it. She wants to know why I followed her? It’s because of this. It’s because when you let someone in, they can ruin you, so you have to make _sure_ they don’t ruin you!”

He was in a rage now, throwing the pillows off his sofa. He wanted to destroy something like you had destroyed your relationship. But... no, _you_ hadn’t destroyed anything. _He_ had, and that thought was enough to drive him mad. 

“Boss,” Zsasz sighed, trying to calm him.

“Leave me, Zsasz. I want to be alone,” he muttered.

“Alright,” he replied through gritted teeth before leaving.

Roman looked around at all the flowers surrounding him. He thought back to when shrunken heads stood in their place. A smirk crossed his face as he thought about how much nicer the flowers were. _Colorful_. His smirk quickly slipped off his face as he realized that he wouldn’t have any more bouquets by you. He’d lose those colors. 

“Fuck. I’ve really fucking fucked up this time,” he groaned, throwing a pillow across the room. It knocked into the vase on the desk with your first bouquet in it. A pit of anxiety rose in him as he watched it teeter, but relief flooded him when it stabilized. He’d have to win you back somehow. 

He devised a plan. If he stopped by every day, you’d see how much he missed you. Except... he didn’t see you there. He’d see your assistants, and they’d tell him that they’d tell you that he’d stopped by. When that didn’t work, he tried to take his mind off things and move on, he threw himself into work at the club, but whenever he glimpsed someone that looked vaguely like you, he’d kick everyone out so that he could mope in his solitude.

Nothing was getting done. If anything, it was somehow _worse_ than when he dated you. Zsasz was growing frustrated with him. He didn’t like you, but he wanted Roman to dump you, not for you to dump Roman. If Roman dumped you, then he wouldn’t be acting like this. He’d be acting like _Roman Sionis_ , on top of his world, and not at the mercy of some bitch. Zsasz couldn’t believe what he was about to do.

“Boss, you have to get your shit together,” Zsasz sighed one morning.

“I have my shit together, Zsasz,” he replied absentmindedly.

“No, boss, ya don’t. If anything, you have your shits scattered in the wind and blowing around being pushed by a fan.”

“Ew.”

“Exactly.”

“Fine. What do you propose I do then?” he asked, humoring him.

“Win her back.”

“I tried that,” Roman sighed in frustration.

“You didn’t try hard enough.”

“I went to the shop, I tried to buy flowers,” Roman said in exasperation.

“You talked your language, boss. Maybe... you should try talking hers?”

“You mean... flowers?” 

Zsasz nodded.

“Zsasz, that’s not... that’s not a bad idea,” Roman murmured. He ran over to the computer and started to type in some searches. “Zsasz, order me some Freesias and an arbutus flower.”

“What the hell is an arbutus flower?”

“Just order them,” he barked. “I’m going to go clean myself up.”

Roman looked down at the pajamas he’d been wearing for two days in disgust. Shit scattered in the wind, indeed. He went to take a shower and get dressed while Zsasz picked up the flowers that Roman wanted. When he finished, he played around with the flowers to make them look pretty. Then, he tied them with a ribbon and went out the door.

“Do you want me to bring the car around?”

“No, Zsasz, I think I’m going to walk.”

Roman practiced his speech in his head on his way to the park.

You were standing in the middle of the garden, leaning on your shovel. Since you didn’t need to see Roman, you spent your nights gardening in the dark, illuminated by the fairy lights. It was to your liking, though, because you were able to see how the night blooming flowers were looking in the garden. Everyone else had gone home by now, and it was just you. You admired your work, listening to the soft bubbling of the water fountain that recycled water to water the plants. That was how he found you.

Roman’s heart leapt as he watched you bathed in the warm glow of the fairy lights. His eyes took in the garden and all the work you had put into the space. It was beautiful in his eyes. Almost as beautiful as you. He tucked the flowers behind his back.

“Darling, this looks incredible,” he replied.

You jumped, turning towards him. “Roman, I thought-”

“Please... let me say my piece?” 

You nodded, holding your hand up to gesture for him to continue.

“I was wrong to follow you,” he stated. “I should have trusted you, and I’m sorry. I’m just... I’m not used to you. You’re so different than anyone else I’ve met. You’re honest, loyal... Quite frankly, you’re so much more than I deserve and that fact isn’t lost on me. In fact, it makes me so terrified of losing you that I went to great lengths to hold onto you, and by doing that I pushed you away. I should have believed in you, and in us. Darling, I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me and take me back?”

Your shaky resolve started to crumble as you watched him there. He was vulnerable, showing up in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. You’d never seen him like this. Then, you noticed something hiding behind his back.

“Roman, what’s behind your back?” you asked curiously.

“A peace offering,” he said with a sheepish smile. He brandished the flowers shyly. The stems were all different lengths, but the colors were beautiful. You took them gently, running your hands over the soft petals.

“Are you trying to tell me something?” you asked hopefully as you looked down at the flowers.

“Perhaps,” he smiled, “Unless they say something bad, in which case I just thought they were pretty. I did have to use the internet.”

A smile grew on your face as you looked down at the bundle. “You trust me,” you smiled, touching the freesias. Then, your brow furrowed as you looked at the other, scanning through your memory. “Arbutus?” you asked him, a funny look on your face as you looked up at him.

“Yes,” he murmured.

Arbutus was a rare flower to find in a bouquet these days, which is why you wanted to make sure that it was deliberate. When he confirmed that it was, your resolve disappeared. You let go of the shovel and went over to him, taking his face in your hand to kiss him. His arms circled your waist, bringing you flush against him as he kissed you harder. After pulling back for air, you rested your foreheads together.

“Roman, I’ve missed you,” you murmured.

“I’ve missed you, too, darling. I promise you, I will never make the mistake of not trusting you again,” he said sincerely. “I’m so sorry that my own actions hurt you.”

“I forgive you, Roman,” you replied.

“You’re my star, darling. I should have know better than this,” he murmured.

“What do you mean?” you asked in amusement.

“You can’t always see the stars, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t there,” he clarified.

“Like a blossom in the night,” you smirked. “You can’t always see when they bloom, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t bloom.”

He kissed your forehead and held you tightly. “You’ll always be my blossom in the night.”

“Do you really like my garden?” you asked, resting your head against his chest.

“I do. A garden in Gotham. I think its wonderful,” he smiled.


	6. Aconite in the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I revamped the chapter from last week and merged it with this week's chapter.

Roman made you spend the night with him in his loft, thinking that it was too late for you to go home at that point. It was the first night you’d spent at his place, but after the events of the day you were both so exhausted that you just fell asleep the second you crawled into bed.

“Roman, I’ve got to go to work,” you groaned the next morning when his arms wrapped around your waist to pull you back into bed.

“Darling, take the day off. You own the place, don’t you? Can’t you take time off whenever you want?” he whined.

“Do you take time off?” you countered, turning in his arms.

“Lately? Yes. I’ve been taking a lot of time off, actually, now that I think about it,” he said thoughtfully.

“That doesn’t sound like a very good business model,” you teased.

“No, I suppose it’s not. But, being in the club doesn’t excite me anymore,” he sighed.

“So, you quit when things don’t excite you?” you asked. “Woe to me when I fail to excite Roman Sionis.”

“First of all, Darling, I would never get tired of you. Second of all, it’s more just... I’ve been thinking and I don’t know if I want this lifestyle anymore,” he said honestly. Waking up like this with you had made him think that maybe living a quieter life might be nice. If he could ever get to that point. Old habits did die hard.

“What made you think that? The great Roman Sionis doesn’t want to be King of Gotham anymore?” you asked.

“No. Not since you,” he smiled softly. “You make me want to give up all this and do something that is less stressful and makes me happy.”

“Well, what makes you happy?”

“You.”

“ _Besides_ me, Roman,” you chuckled. “You can’t make a career out of me.”

“Well, no, but I could work with you? What if I sell the club and invest in your shop?” he asked.

You sat up straight in bed to look down at him. “Roman, you don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t have to, but I want to. Think about it. With my money behind you, you could expand and have multiple shops,” he said, stroking his chin.

“Would you just be a silent partner?” you asked, raising a brow.

“I’d rather be _hands-on_ ,” he winked.

You blushed, “Roman, you don’t know the first thing about flowers.”

“But I’m willing to learn,” he said adamantly. “I’ve already made a bouquet for you. Teach me the basics and I’ll grow as we go.”

You shook your head, thinking it over. “The Great Roman Sionis wants to be a florist.”

“I do.”

“It’s not going to be easy. It’ll be a major adjustment, and the money isn’t as lucrative as running a club.”

“I don’t care. It’s what I want to do,” he replied. “When can I start?”

“Today. Stop by the shop later on my lunch break and I’ll teach you,” you smiled.

“That implies that you’re getting out of this bed,” he frowned.

“That it does,” you winked.

Roman sighed. “I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll be waiting,” you tossed over your shoulder. He turned back over in bed while you got ready for the day and went to work. You nodded to Zsasz on your way out and he looked at you in disgust, having heard your entire conversation with Roman.

When it was time for your break, you decided to pull out some flowers to practice arranging with Roman. Thinking about everything the two of you had been through and what he was willing to do to change, you settled on the Gladiolus flower and red roses. You figured it was time. 

You heard the bell at the front of the shop jingle and smiled. “You’re early.”

“What can I say?” he smiled. “I was excited.”

He walked over to the stacks of flowers you’d placed on the work table for him, giving them a once over. 

“What do these mean?” he asked.

“I’ll tell you after,” you replied with a small smile.

“Cryptic, Darling,” he grinned.

“I’m a woman of mystery,” you joked.

He laughed at that. 

“Now, first things first. You want to cut all your stems on an angle, and get rid of any leaves that will be below the water line. It will help the flowers stay fresh longer,” you explained, taking some flowers and snipping away at them.

“Do they all have to be the same height?” he asked.

“Yes, if they’re going into a bouquet that you’re handing to someone, because they’ll probably be cut again to fit that vase, but not if you’re putting them directly in a vase.”

Roman nodded intently as he stared at the vase you’d put in front of him.

You raised an eyebrow at him as he started to thoughtfully arrange the flowers. Soon enough, he had stepped back to survey his work.

“Darling, am I limited to these two flowers?” he asked, “Or am I allowed to use your wall?”

“By all means, go ahead,” you smirked. “Don’t let me stop you.”

“Well, it’s your garden. I’m merely a guest,” he grinned.

You playfully rolled your eyes at him as he went to pull out some more filler flowers and leaves to arrange in his bouquet. When he was done, he turned his vase towards you. 

“Well?” he asked. He tried to seem disinterested, but you could see the unmistakable hope in his eyes.

What surprised you the most, though, was that Roman was actually quite _good_ at this. Gently, you reached out to pull his vase closer, a smile blossoming on your face as you looked down at the arrangement.

“Your silence is scary. It’s terrible, baby, isn’t it?” he sighed in frustration.

“No! Not at all!” You said adamantly. “I think it’s beautiful. You might have a career out of this.”

He raised a skeptical brow at you. “You really think I could be a florist?”

You nodded. “Roman Sionis, I think you could be whatever you want to be.”

A slight blush tinted his cheeks. “I-I see.”

Stepping around to his side of the work bench, you rested your hands on his chest. “Roman, what do you want to be?”

“Besides yours?” he asked softly as he pulled you in for a hug. You rested your head against his chest. “I think I’d like being a florist. I like creating things. It’s fun, and I like the fact that it says something as well as being nice to look at.”

He looked down at the flowers and tilted his head. “What do these mean anyway? I know people give roses a lot, but I figure they must have a meaning, too.”

Resting your cheek against his chest, you turned to look at the bouquet. “Gladiolus mean strength. I think you’re strong for changing your entire lifestyle.”

“And the roses?”

“Roses have different meanings depending on their colors.”

“Great, an added layer of information I’ll have to learn,” he grimaced.

You chuckled. “You’ll get the hang of it.”

“So, what do red roses mean?”

You bit your lip. 

“They mean-”

You were interrupted by Zsasz.

“Boss, we’ve got that prior commitment coming up.”

“Right,” Roman sighed. “Of course.”

He gave you an apologetic look and went to leave. “Later, baby. I’ll catch up with you later.”

You nodded. “At least let me wrap up your bouquet.”

“We don’t have time,” Zsasz said impatiently.

Roman winked at you and left for the car.

Roman and Zsasz were dealing with some clients who had failed to pay Roman what he was owed. Normally, this would result in Roman giving Zsasz the signal, and then Roman needed new clients. However, this time… Roman didn’t give the signal. Zsasz was standing there with his knife to the side of this man’s face and Roman faltered.

Zsasz gestured to the knife and then to the other man’s face. “Boss?”

Roman saw the fear in the man’s eyes like he was looking at a monster. Was Roman a monster, standing there in his mask looking down on him? Roman Sionis thought about all the parents who warned of Black Mask to keep their children safe at night and wondered if he was still the monster that everyone made him out to be, the monster that he once thought he _needed_ to be. Roman’s eyes flicked to Zsasz’s expectant hand, and he walked away. He couldn’t give the order. Not this time, not anymore. Not when he looked into that man’s face and saw yours full of hope and love staring back at him. His heart was hammering in his chest as he walked away, hearing the man’s screams behind him. Would there have been any scenario where that man would have lived? No, he supposed there wouldn’t be. He didn’t want this anymore.

He felt like he couldn’t breathe in his mask. It was suffocating him with the weight of everything he had ever done while wearing it. He was the thing of nightmares. He was dark and dangerous, the lord of the underworld. But _you_ … you were his Persephone. His goddess of spring, with your flowers and sunny disposition, you made him want to be a part of your world instead of his. He ripped off his mask and let it fall from his hands as he broke down, sliding down the wall. Roman Sionis wanted out, but he was so deep in this pit of darkness and chaos that he could barely see the light at the top. Still, he knew what was at the top. It would be you, holding out your arms to take him into them. He wiped the tears from his face, smudging his eyeliner with his white gloves, but not caring enough about it. He needed _you_. He just didn’t think he deserved you. No, he _knew_ he didn’t deserve you.

He heard the screams grow louder and pulled himself up to go and stop Zsasz, but it was too late. Zsasz came sauntering up the hall, holding the mask of flesh that dripped along the concrete floor with every step. He tossed it at Roman’s feet so that it was almost staring up at him. He was disgusted with what Roman had become. The man used to have Gotham at his feet, and now he was wiling to throw it all away for some florist, some weak, do-good florist. You were wrecking Roman and he wasn’t going to stand for it any longer. No, the King of Gotham’s underbelly was going on playgrounds and becoming too interested in flowers. He had to put a stop to this before Roman did something he regretted. Zsasz was only looking out for his boss. Zsasz was not going to lose his boss. Not to anyone, and _especially_ not to _you_.

Zsasz shoulder checked him as he walked past. “I did what you asked, boss.”

Roman looked back at him in horror, running towards the now muffled cries of pain. He gently scooped the body up in his arms. The man was whimpering, blood was getting on Roman’s clothes.

“I’m so sorry,” Roman apologized softly. Yet, it was too late. The man had died. His apology falling on deaf ears. He lowered the body to the ground. He’d do better. You deserved better.

“Take me to her house, Zsasz,” Roman said hollowly after he got up.

“Of course, boss,” he replied, trying to hide his disgust.

The ride home to the apartment was silent. Zsasz was formulating a plan as he watched Roman stare despondently out the window like a lost puppy. _Pathetic_.

They pulled up to your house and Roman went to knock on the door. You opened it, excited when you’d seen him through the peephole of your door. But, as you opened the door, the smile faltered. He was drenched in blood. Panic started to set in.

“Roman, who’s blood is that?” you asked quietly.

“It’s paint,” he lied before pulling you in for a kiss. It’s hard and rough. His lips met yours over and over again, and he apologized in between them. He didn’t let you catch your breath as he promised to do better because he’s such a terrible person. When he pulled back, he noticed that you were drenched in blood from his clothes. A thought struck him then, that this is what a life with him would do to someone like you. It would take someone as clean and pure as yourself and ruin you, soiling you with the blood on his hands. His eyes widened and he made an impulsive decision.

“We should break up,” he stated.

“Roman Sionis, you can’t come into my apartment, kiss me like _that_ , and then try to dump me,” you yelled. 

“Darling, you deserve so much better,” he replied.

“I’ll be the judge of what I deserve, Roman,” you said adamantly. “You’re not getting rid of me.” You grew quiet, thinking back to how he abandoned things that failed to excite him. “Unless you don’t love me anymore?”

“No, that’s not it at all!” he said sincerely. “I do love you. I love everything about you.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s...” he sighed, letting the mask slip in place. “Forget it.” He couldn’t tell you about what he was. 

Your eyes softened and you went over to the bouquet you’d brought home from earlier. You took up a red rose and handed it to him.

“What do red roses mean?” he asked quietly. “They mean that I love you. You gave me an arbutus and I never told you how I felt,” you smiled.

“You really mean that?” he asked in awe.

“I do, Roman. I love you, which is why you’re not _dumping_ me. Now, go home and take a shower,” you chuckled, pulling him in for a kiss.

He kissed back, and smiled when he pulled away. “Alright.”

You playfully pushed him out the door, and he left for his car, twirling his rose in his hand. On the ride home, he looked down at it, promising himself to do better and be worthy of someone as pure as you.

When they got back, Roman went straight to bed after he showered, not even caring for the festivities in the club at all. Zsasz got a drink and met with some contacts to finalize his plan. Then, he went up to the loft. He settled into Roman’s desk and opened the laptop for some research.

“Since she likes flowers so much, let’s see how she likes these,” he grinned malevolently as he paid for a bouquet. Now, all he had to do was wait.

You went through the next day like a breeze, working on your community garden. It was almost finished and you couldn’t wait to show Roman. After putting your tools away, you went home for the day. When you got to your apartment, there was a bouquet waiting for you. That was strange, since Roman had already gotten his daily bouquet, not to mention, the meaning of these flowers was not quite as nice as the bouquets the two of you swapped.

“Aconite and black roses,” you murmured. “Definitely not happy flowers.”

The bouquet made you feel uneasy and you sent a picture to Roman asking if he sent them before making picking them up and going into your apartment. It all happened so quickly. One moment you were closing the door, and the next the world was spinning and fading to black as strong arms grabbed you from behind.

When you didn’t answer his text messages, Roman got nervous. It wasn’t like you to not respond, especially when he asked what was the matter. He paced back and forth across his loft as a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. Something had happened. He knew it. He _felt_ it. Those flowers… something about them was off. He settled into his desk to look them up and saw the same flowers in the recent search history, but _he_ didn’t search for them. His eyes darkened with anger. _Zsasz_.

Your vision slowly came back to you, but you weren’t sure if you could trust it. You saw colors and shapes. It was almost overwhelming. Your eyes came into focus and you realized you were in the center of your garden. Your garden in the middle of the park in the dead of the night.

“You’ve done a nice job,” Zsasz smirked. “Looks decent, for flowers.”

“Zsasz,” you asked in confusion. You went to get up but noticed that your hands were tied.

“Please, stay where you are. It’ll all be over soon,” he murmured, switching open a knife. “Did you like my flowers?”

“Aconite and black roses,” you spat. “Can’t send a clearer message than that.”

“He was growing soft,” Zsasz replied. “If the boss goes soft, then what would happen to me?”

“What are you talking about?” you asked in confusion.

“Oh, that’s right. You don’t know,” he grinned maniacally. “Your knight in shining armor is more like a prince of darkness, sweetheart.”

“That’s not true.”

“Ever heard of black mask?” he asked, stepping closer.

You swallowed. You’d heard the name once or twice. It was never followed by anything good. “You’re lying.”

“You won’t live long enough to find out,” he purred as he playfully swung the knife this way and that. He pulled open his shirt and tapped an empty spot. “I think I’ll put you right here.”

Your heart was hammering in your chest. If you screamed, would anyone hear? Would anyone do anything or would he just kill you faster? Was he telling the truth about Roman? Your thoughts were muddling together as you saw your life flash before your eyes.

Roman had to get to you. He ran to your apartment and found it empty, signs of a struggle. He picked up the bouquet in his hands, crushing it in anger. His mind went to overload as he thought of where Zsasz would have taken you. It wouldn’t have been somewhere of significance to him. That wasn’t how Zsasz operated. He would’ve taken you somewhere important to _you_. That only left the shop and the garden. He had a 50/50 shot of showing up at the right location before it was too late.

The knife was sharp against your skin. It dug in slightly and it stung. You tried to breathe through the pain. You wouldn’t give Zsasz the satisfaction of begging.

“Fiesty til the end,” Zsasz smirked. “It’s a shame, really. You would’ve been good had you been more inclined to crime.”

A twig snapped nearby and Zsasz stopped. His eyes searched the surrounding area for the source of the noise. You took a calming breath hoping that it was help and not just some small animal that lived in the park. That was when you saw him. You locked eyes with the black mass in the shadows. He held his fingers up to his lips and you blinked in acknowledgement. You’d heard legends of the caped crusader in your city, but you’d never expected to meet him, much less need him. Yet, here he was, hovering in the distance and waiting to strike. When Zsasz faced away from him, he sprang forth and tackled him to the ground with a punch.

“Shit,” Zsasz exhaled. “The bitch isn’t worth this.”

He picked himself up and ran, leaving you with the infamous Batman.

“Are you okay?” he asked you.

“I’ve been kidnapped by my boyfriend’s bodyguard, tied up in the garden of my own design, and I almost had my face cut off. Everything’s coming up roses,” you replied sardonically.

He let out a huff of a laugh as he undid your bindings. “Glad to see you have a sense of humor still.”

Still? Did you know this man?

“What were you doing out here anyway?” you asked, rubbing at your wrists.

“Sometimes I like to stop and smell the flowers,” he said with a small cryptic smile.

You heard footsteps approaching rapidly and Roman calling out your name.

“Keep up the good work. This garden will be the talk of the town when you’re done,” he replied before disappearing into the night.

Roman burst through the gate and you felt that fake sense of confidence you’d been relying on dissolve. You ran into his arms and sobbed as he held you tight.

“Oh, baby. Baby, it’s okay,” he murmured, kissing your hair over and over again. “You’re okay. I’m never going to let anything happen to you again.”

He looked over your shoulder as you buried yourself in his chest for comfort.

“Darling, where is Zsasz?” he asked darkly.

“He ran off when Batman came,” you explained.

Roman grimaced. The bat had rescued you? _Lovely_ , just _lovely_. Now he owed him, and Roman Sionis did not like to owe _anyone_.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” he murmured. He scooped you up in his arms and carried you back to the loft.

When you got there, he cleaned you up and put you in a pair of pajamas. You sipped a cup of tea on his couch as he watched the street below in silence. He slowly ripped off his gloves.

“I’m going to kill him,” he remarked.

“Roman, you can’t do that,” you murmured, placing your cup on the table.

“He tried to _kill_ you, darling. I can’t stand for that!”

“Roman, you’re not a killer.”

He turned to you, a quiet rage behind his eyes that scared you as he stalked over. “Oh, but darling I am.”

You shook your head in disbelief. “No, my Roman would never.”

He looked down at the floor at your words and sighed. “You’re right. _Your_ Roman would never, but before you, I was. I… I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to look at me and see me for the monster that I am.”

Gently, you took his hand and pulled him to the couch with you. You cupped his cheek and stroked your thumb across it. “You’re not a monster. You’re just a man.”

“Darling, I need to be honest with you. I know it will be hard to hear, but after tonight I can’t let this go further without you knowing the kind of man you’ve chosen to love,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’d rather tell you the truth and lose you instead of lying and having you ripped from me.”

You chewed your lip and nodded, preparing to listen to whatever he said.

He told you everything. He told you about Black Mask, the club, the people he used to enjoy associating with, the things he used to enjoy doing, the things he did to get to where he was now, and he told you about how he didn’t want any of it anymore. He told you how he wanted to be better, to _do_ better, because of _you_ , to be _worthy_ of someone like you. He was sobbing by the end of it, exhausted from pulling himself up out of that ditch inch by horrible inch until he could see the light and your hand reaching out for him. Zsasz had been half right, and so had you. In that pit, Roman _was_ a Prince of Darkness, but as he stepped into the light, it glinted off of his armor showing you your knight, your protector, that your love had saved. You pulled him into you and hugged him tight. The things he said had scared you, but you knew he had changed. You just needed to help him detach from his old life and start fresh.

“May I see it?” you asked softly.

“See what?” he asked in confusion, swiping the tears from his face.

“Your mask,” you murmured.

He swallowed and nodded, going to retrieve it and bring it back for you.

It was heavy in your hands. Heavier than you expected.

“Do you trust me?” you asked softly.

“With my life,” he smiled.

You fetched a lighter from his desk, setting the mask aflame. Then, you dropped the lighted mask in the sink, watching it burn.

He came up behind you, watching the ash gather in the sink.

You turned and offered him your hand. “Rise from the ashes.”

He took your hand and kissed it.


	7. Sucker for You

After the day you’d had, convincing you to stay over wasn’t hard. Roman clung to you in his sleep, and that was perfectly fine with you, because in his arms you felt safe. You woke to him stroking your hair.

“Good morning,” he smiled down at you.

“I’m not going to work today,” you replied simply, resting your head on his chest.

“I think that’s for the best. Take a day off and relax,” he replied, tracing a circle on your shoulder.

“I don’t want to relax. I want to spend it with you,” you purred, kissing his jaw.

A moan escaped his throat at the sudden affection. It wasn’t unwelcome. It was just… _new_. You hadn’t gone any further than kissing with Roman. Thinking back to everything you’d learned about him in the past 24 hours, you now were surprised at that. His hand came up and gently cupped your cheek to pull your face away from his neck.

“Careful, darling,” he purred with a dangerous glint in his eyes, “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

Teasingly, you trailed your hand down his chest, slipping it lower and lower, “What makes you think I can’t _finish_ it.”

Roman closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath as you snapped the waistband of his pants.

“Darling, you’re going to be the death of me,” he exhaled.

“I’m pretty sure you were almost the death of me,” you said with a slight smile.

His eyes opened wide at your words. “I was, wasn’t I? I’m going to have to make that up to you.”

“How do you propose we do that?” you asked, dragging your finger across his pelvis just under his waistband.

A moan escaped his lips at your teasing. “ _Fuck_.”

“I wouldn’t be opposed,” you murmured, leaning forward to kiss his neck.

His eyes were dark with lust as he reached down to stop your hand. Or at least, you thought he was going to stop your hand. Instead, he pushed your hand further down until your hand was wrapping around him. A moan slipped past your lips at how big he was, making your hand seem so small in comparison. With languid motions, you dragged your hand up and down his shaft while you sucked and nipped his neck. His hands moved to settle on your hips, bringing you up on top of him. The grip on your hips tightened as he ground against you. Roman sucked on your collar bone, making you moan. 

“That’s it,” he grinned. “Sing for me, little bird.”

Your pupils were wide as you looked down at him, grinding your hips harder against his hard erection.

“Fuck me,” you told him.

“What was that?” he asked with a smirk. “I don’t think I heard you.”

 _“Fuck me, Roman_ ,” you repeated as you dragged your clothed core against him harder.

He hissed in response to the pressure. In one swift motion, you were flipped onto your back and pinned down to the bed. His hands slid up your sides, inching up your shirt until you lifted up to pull it over your head. Roman’s head dipped down to take your breasts into his mouth, sucking and nipping on them. You gasped in response to his hot mouth and velvet tongue on your skin. Shivers went down your spine whenever he switched to give attention to your other breast and the cold air hit your wet skin. His hands slipped down to drag your underwear down your legs, throwing them to the floor. Reverently, he cupped your core, feeling your heat and slick on his hand. He nipped your breast a little hard in response.

“ _Fuck_ , baby, tell me how much you want me?” Roman commanded.

“So fucking bad, Roman. _I want you so fucking bad_ ,” you whined, grinding against his hand.

Roman squeezed you gently before slipping in his middle finger, causing you to gasp. He took advantage of your open mouth to kiss you hard, sliding his tongue in to tangle with yours. He sucked on your tongue, stroking the underside with his as he inserted another finger, pumping in and out of you. His thumb pressed on a sensitive bundle of nerves, rubbing tight circles. Your back arched off the bed and he slipped his other arm beneath you to hold you flush against his chest.

With difficulty, you pulled away from his face to beg. “Roman, please, I want you. I need you.”

“Well, baby, since you asked _so_ nicely,” he purred. Roman lowered you gently back to the bed as he pushed his pants and underwear down his body. Then, he pulled his shirt over his head and returned to cage you into the bed. “You’re sure you want this?” he asked softly.

Your immediate response was to wrap your legs around his waist. “Roman, I’m sure. I love you, and I want this. You can’t just wear those gloves all the time and not expect me to want to fuck you,” you teased.

He smirked at you. “So you like the gloves?”

“They’ll have to stay on next time,” you winked, pulling him closer to you.

“Duly noted,” he chuckled, lining himself up with you. His tip nestled between your folds before his eyes flicked up to yours, wanting to watch your every reaction. He slowly sunk himself into you, drinking in how your eyes widened at the sensation and your breath hitched in your throat. 

“How does that feel?” he purred after he bottomed out and you let out a shaky breath.

“So good,” you replied, rolling your hips into his to encourage him to move.

His lips claimed yours as he started a slow pace. However, he quickly sped up until you were being pounded into the mattress. Your nails dug into his back as his teeth gently latched around your bottom lip, sucking on it before he gently tugged on it. His hands held your hips in place while he fucked you into oblivion. You held onto him for dear life as you felt your orgasm starting to build. The coil pulled in on itself and grew tighter and tighter. He pushed your hips down into the bed as you tried to lift yourself off to physically account for the sensations you were feeling. Then, it felt like you were in free fall as you came, legs shaking on either side of him.

“Fuck,” he called out as your release pulled his from him. He slammed into you one last time, burying his face in your neck as he panted, collapsing into you. Your arms wrapped around his back to pull him as close as possible. He gently kissed you as he pulled out.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind waking up like this every morning,” he grinned.

“Me neither,” you breathed.

“I also have a surprise for you,” he murmured, kissing your forehead.

“What’s that?” you asked.

He got up and tucked himself back into his pants before handing you his bathrobe. “Follow me.”

He led you out into his office space where it was full of honeysuckles.

“Roman, what is all of this?” you asked in amusement.

“I wanted you to know how I felt,” he smiled, “Especially when I told you that I’m selling the club.”

You stopped in your tracks. “S-selling the club? You’re actually doing it?”

He leaned back against his desk. “Almost losing you because of what I do made me realize that I sincerely don’t want to do it anymore. So, I’m getting out. I already have a buyer.”

“Who?”

“A friend of Harley Quinn,” he replied. 

“What are you going to do instead?” you asked.

“I told you the other day. I want to go into flowers. I’ll invest in your shop, make it into a bigger enterprise, and maybe I’ll make some bouquets of my own,” he replied, “If that’s alright with you, that is.”

“I’d love it,” you replied with a big smile. You went over to hug him, looking around the room at the new flowers and the old flowers. You decided then that you’d teach him everything that you knew and together the two of you would be able to do anything.


	8. Planting Roots

The days dragged on and you taught him more and more about your business when you could. You were also nearly done with your garden for the city. You’d left Roman with the shop to learn from your employees while you were finishing up this week. Part of you worried that he wouldn’t be as kind to your employees correcting him as he was with you, but you’d noticed that Roman was kinder lately, more patient. Perhaps it was because he was no longer spending so much time with Zsasz, or perhaps it was just because he was being good for you. Either way, you weren’t complaining. To be clear, you would have loved Roman no matter what, but to say you weren’t satisfied with the gradual changes you were noticing would be a lie. He seemed happier, and that made you happy. 

* * *

After finishing the last section of your garden, you took a step back to admire your work. It was a symphony of color, a rainbow rising out of a city of gray. An oasis in a concrete desert. You didn’t worry about whether or not people would like it, because it was beautiful. It was one of those things where you knew its beauty could never be disputed. That was the thing with flowers that you loved the most. There was an innate perfection and beauty in all of them, from their petals to how the leaves grew on the stems. You took in a deep breath, breathing in the smell of the Earth mixed with the fragrance of your creation. No perfume was sweeter. 

“You’ve done well,” a voice said from behind you.

“Thank you, Mr. Wayne. I could never have done it without your resources, though,” you replied as he came to stand next to you.

“There’s a difference between having money and having a vision. Some people have one, some people have both. I feel like its the duty of those with money to help those with vision,” he replied.

You tilted your head up to him. “Don’t sell yourself short. Somehow... I feel like you have both. After all, you came up with this idea. You have a vision of a better Gotham, too.”

“More than you know,” he said with a cryptic smile. 

“Well, it’s all set for the ceremony next weekend,” you replied, turning back to the garden.

“Are you ready for the ceremony?” he teased.

“What do you mean?”

“Your shop is already popular. However, when people see this, they’ll want more of your work. Perhaps it would be best if you hired some more employees to account for the sudden uptick in work you’ll be getting,” he replied.

Your mind drifted back to Roman’s proposal to open more shops in Gotham. Perhaps that may be your reality sooner than you had planned. 

“Well, I have to get back to the office,” Wayne replied. “It was a pleasure working with you.”

“If you ever need any flowers, you know where to find me,” you smiled.

“Of course,” he smiled back before leaving.

You gave your garden a slow turn, double-checking your work before putting your tools away. A small smile grew on your face. You’d done well. You just hoped that Roman was having as good of a day as you were.

Roman sighed. “So, yellow roses mean friendship, but red roses mean love. Who the hell comes up with this stuff?”

One of your workers, Clarice, chuckled, “I don’t know. The meaning of flowers have been around for centuries.”

“Yes, well, as beautiful as it is, part of me wonders if we should have let it die, like we did with Latin,” Roman huffed.

“Now, Mr. Sionis, you can’t really mean that? After all, would you have won over the boss without the language of flowers?” Clarice asked, arranging a bouquet.

“Probably not,” he admitted, stroking a petal. “I’m not always the best with words. These flowers seemed to say the things I couldn’t.”

“That’s the beauty of them,” Clarice smiled.

“That’s not the only beauty,” Roman replied, eyes lighting up as he spotted you walking across the street.

Clarice blushed and then made herself scarce as you walked through the door.

“Well, darling, how is the garden?” Roman asked, coming over to wrap you in his arms.

“It’s... finished,” you replied, resting your hands on his chest, “It’s still hard to believe. For the past few weeks I’ve just been making little changes here and there, but now I’m officially satisfied with how it turned out.”

“That’s wonderful, though,” he smiled down at you. 

“It is. I just... I feel like I need another project now,” you laughed, “I feel like I have too much free time now.”

“I’m sure business will be booming after the garden is opened,” Roman replied, kissing your forehead.

“I... I wanted to talk to you about that actually,” you said, looking up at him.

“What about it?” he asked, stroking your cheek.

“I think we should open another location,” you replied.

“I think that’s a great idea. Where would you want to open up shop?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I’d like to open one in a low income neighborhood and have lower prices, but I also wouldn’t mind opening up in a high end neighborhood, either,” you replied.

“Why not open up in both?” 

“Because I can’t afford that,” you replied like it was obvious.

“You may not be able to, but I can,” he said, gently tapping your nose.

“Roman, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” you sighed.

“You’re not _asking_ me to, I’m _volunteering_ to. There’s a difference,” he grinned.

“I don’t want to be your charity case,” you said gently.

“You’re not my charity case. You’re the love of my life and I’ll do anything to make you happy,” he said adamantly. “Now, let me do some research and we’ll tour some locations next week.”

“Roman-”

“No. We’re doing this,” Roman insisted.

You sighed, knowing better than to argue with him when he had his sights set on something. 

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have about two more bouquets to finish,” Roman replied.

“Are we still on for a picnic later?” you asked.

“Of course. I’ll meet you at the garden at sunset. I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with it since last time,” he said before giving you a quick kiss. “Now, shoo. You’ve had a long day. Go home, take a hot bath and relax.”

You shook your head at him as you left. “Alright, alright, I’m going.”

There was a lot on your mind as you walked back to your apartment. Life these days was pleasant and easy with Roman. It made you want to go all in with him. As dangerous of a man as you knew he was, something about him made you feel safe. You knew that he would never hurt you. It was reinforced when you saw how devoted he was to making you happy. That was why tonight was going to be the night you asked him to move in with you. It would be easier for him to slip out of his old lifestyle if he wasn’t living on top of his club. You just worried that he wouldn’t say yes. After all, your apartment was a hole in the wall compared to his loft. He was used to the finer things. Would he resent you if he moved in with you? You had so many questions swirling in your head as you sunk down into the hot bath that you’d run. Regardless of your fears, you knew you wanted this with Roman. You wanted to plant roots to help your relationship grow even sturdier, and deep down you knew he wanted the same thing. After all, you don’t get into business with someone that you don’t plan on staying with. 

Your bath did a lot to calm your nerves, but so did the glass of wine you had while you were in there. After you got out, you changed into some comfortable jeans and a nice shirt before setting up your picnic basket. It was a little nicer than your last picnic fare, but that was because you’d learned more about what he liked to eat. When you finished packing your basket, you looked outside and noticed the sun was starting to set. Pulling on your jacket, you picked up your spare apartment key and dropped it in the basket for later. Then, you made your way out and towards the garden for your date.

When Roman arrived, you’d already set everything up and turned on the fairy lights. His heart skipped a beat at how the light cast your body in a warm glow. He didn’t know how he’d gotten so lucky, but he promised to himself that he would do everything to make sure he never fucked this up. Not like he fucked up everything else he’d touched. 

“Darling, this is remarkable,” he stated, taking in the garden as he wrapped his arms around you from behind. 

“You think?” you asked, leaning back into him.

“Of course. You’ve worked so hard. It’s really paid off,” he smiled.

“Shall we?” you asked, gesturing down to the picnic blanket.

He let you go and the two of you settled down to eat. He told you all about his day and how sometimes it was frustrating to learn, but he really thought he was getting the hang of things.

“I will never be as good as you, though,” he added, laying back on the blanket after he finished eating. 

You laid down, settling into him and resting your head on his shoulder as you looked up at the sky. You loved the city, but you hated that you could never see the stars. “I think you’ll be a garden god in no time.”

“Your confidence in me is flattering,” he smirked, turning to kiss your forehead.

“ _Roman_...” you gently ventured.

“ _Darling_...” he said in the same tone.

You fiddled with the key in your hand, feeling the rose keychain in your fingers. Hesitantly, you placed it on his chest.

“What’s this?” he asked with a funny look, picking it up. “A key? _Is it to your heart?”_

“To my apartment,” you murmured.

Roman perked up, propping himself on his side to look into your face. _“Are you...?”_

“ _Am I._..?” you asked innocently.

“Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Yes, but, only if you want to. I know that your loft is so much larger, so moving into my apartment would be a downgrade and I don’t want you to-”

He cut you off with a kiss. His lips were soft as they pressed into yours, effectively shutting you up. Your eyes fluttered closed as you kissed him back, reaching up to cup his face.

“Yes,” he murmured, pulling away far enough to look at you.

“Yes?” you asked giddily.

“Yes. I want to move in with you. I just... I don’t know how all my things will fit,” he replied.

“Well, if you have nicer furniture than I do, we can replace mine. My closet is huge for Gotham apartment living, and if you still want an office, I’m sure we can convert the storage room at the shop to one,” you offered.

“And the bouquets?” he asked.

“The dried ones?”

“Mhm. What about those?”

“Roman, you can’t keep them all. You can keep one or two,” you replied.

“But-”

“Roman, I work in a flower shop. As sweet as it is that you’ve saved all the bouquets that I’ve ever given you, we can’t feasibly keep them all. Besides, we work with them all day. We don’t need them,” you replied.

He actually started to pout, tugging at your heartstrings. You sighed.

“Fine. You can keep three. One for each bedroom, and one for the dining room,” you replied.

“Alright,” he grinned. Three was more than one. He’d take it. Besides, he didn’t need all of those flowers when he was going to be living with the most beautiful bloom of all, _you_.

“We can move you in this weekend. Next weekend I’ll be out of town,” you replied.

“For what?”

“A flower show,” you said. 

“They have those?” he asked curiously.

“Of course! They have shows for anything these days,” you paused, noticing the look of wonder on his face. “Would you... would you like to come?”

“Oh, darling, can I?”

“Of course. In fact, that might be a great way for you to learn more about everything,” you replied.

He grinned, “Oh, I can’t wait.”


	9. Branching Out

You’d spent the morning touring potential properties that Roman had picked out for you. He hadn’t wanted to go with you until you picked one, wanting this truly to be your choice. After a slightly productive morning, you went back to the shop to start an order for a wedding. When you walked into the shop there was a line around the corner. Your garden hadn’t even opened yet. Where was all this business coming from?

Perplexed, you walked passed the line and towards the door.

“Hey, lady! You have to wait in line like the rest of us!”

Your brows skyrocketed into your hairline. “Excuse me? I own this shop.”

“Oh,” the person replied.

You shook your head and went in, determined to see what all the fuss was about.

“Penny, what’s with the crowd?” you asked, slipping behind the counter and switching your coat out for your apron.

“King of Darkness over there has a cult following,” Penny chuckled, sending her thumb in the direction of your boyfriend, Roman Sionis.

“All these people are here for Roman?” you asked in awe.

“Yeah. He popped a sign out in the window with some bouquet examples saying ‘Say it with Flowers’ yesterday. A few people asked what they meant by that and told their friends who posted on social media… and well. Here we are,” she shrugged.

“Wild,” you replied.

“Wild, indeed,” she laughed. 

You looked over at Roman, busily working to fulfill orders as they came in. A playful smirk crossed your face as you came over and gently tapped on his shoulder. “Need a hand?”

“Oh! Darling, there you are. Are you back already? You toured all those places?” his eyes widened. “What fucking time is it?”

You chuckled. “Time for you to take a break from the sounds of it. Here. I’ll entertain your public while you go eat something. You aren’t you when you’re hungry.”

He kissed your cheek and gave the bouquet over to you. You finished it up and handed it to the customer. 

“Well, it’s pretty, but its not a _Roman_ ,” the person behind that customer replied.

You shook your head incredulously, “Who do you think taught him how to do all this?”

“Well, the student has surpassed the Master,” she shrugged before walking away. When people noticed that Roman was gone, some of them dispersed, leaving only a handful that you fulfilled quickly enough. 

“What the hell?” you asked Poppy when the shop was empty.

She just shrugged and moved to take the sign out of the window.

“No, leave it there. It’s good for business apparently.”

You went to the back office that you had set up for Roman and leaned against the doorway.

“Apparently your public prefers your bouquets to mine,” you told him. “When you left, most of them did.”

“Oh, darling, I’m sorry! I’ll stop. After all, it’s your shop. I wouldn’t want to take any of the spotlight away from you. Not when you have your big unveiling this weekend,” he told you.

“No, no, no! Business is great. Don’t stop. Besides, this just means that we’ll both be good at flowers. A flower power couple if you will,” you grinned.

“Darling, please don’t ever call us that again,” he said seriously.

You laughed at his reaction and came over to sit in his lap. “Looks like you’re a Garden God.”

“I am quite good, aren’t I?” He grinned, looping his arms around your waist. “Although, a student is only as good as his teacher.”

“Your cult seems to think you’ve surpassed me,” you sighed, resting your head on his shoulder.

“They don’t know shit,” he murmured, turning to kiss your nose. “After they see your garden tomorrow, I’ll be quite literally yesterday’s news.”

“You’re always front page to me,” you smirked.

“Only for you, baby,” he said, stroking your cheek. “Only for you.”

“Are you excited for the trip?” you asked.

“Honestly, I am. I know its a bunch of flowers and I never thought this would happen, but I am looking forward to seeing what a flower show is. Not to mention, I’m rather excited to spend a weekend away upstate with you,” he purred.

“Roman,” you giggled.

“What? You’ll always be the most beautiful bloom in any room,” he smiled.

You rolled your eyes and got up. “I’ve got to finish up this wedding order.”

“Let me help you, darling,” he said.

“You’ve made how many bouquets today?” you asked.

He sat in silence for a moment before replying. “35.”

Your eyes widened. “Roman, take a break.”

“No, this is _our_ business. I will help share the work, now come on, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go home and share a nice dinner.”

You shook your head at him. He really was something else. You made your way back to the front of the shop and between the two of you, you knocked out all the wedding bouquets in a few hours and set them in the fridge for pickup the next day. Then, the two of you traded your aprons for your coats and went back to your apartment, newly furnished with things from his apartment and made dinner. It was a simple curry, but that was all you two could handle making, being thoroughly exhausted from the day. It wasn’t long before you found yourselves in bed, snuggling, and letting sleep claim you.

The next morning was a blur of: packing, you yelling at Roman for _not_ packing his things, him explaining that he usually had Zsazs do it for him, and then the two of you rushing to get to the dedication on time. 

The ceremony itself was quick, with the mayor and Mr. Wayne cutting the ribbon to open it to the public. 

“How long do I have to stay here?” you asked Roman.

“Darling, you have to mingle with the masses to get your name out there. You really are bad at networking,” he grinned.

“No, I just don’t like being in the spotlight,” you admitted. “Flowers compliment everything, but when you give them to someone, you never think about the person who made the bouquet, just the person who gave it to you. Being a florist is a job where you can fly under the radar.”

“Not anymore,” he murmured, leaning over to kiss your forehead.

You let him convince you to stay an extra hour before excusing yourself for the long trip upstate that you had ahead of you.

The car ride with Roman had actually been fun. You had him try beef jerky for the first time, claiming it to be a road trip staple. He was pleasantly surprised. The two of you even sang along to the radio, which revealed that Roman had a beautiful singing voice. However, as you made your way up to the hotel room when you got there, you started to feel nervous about this being the first trip the two of you have ever taken. You wondered how it would go, being in a tiny room with him for a whole weekend. Yet, part of you also remembered a surprise that you’d tucked into your luggage. You planned on showing him that later to see how he’d react and the thought made you blush.

“Are you alright darling? Are you feeling well?” Roman asked, taking in your flushed face.

“Y-yes, I’m fine,” you stammered as you got off the elevator and went down the hall to your room. Using the keycard they gave you, you unlocked it and set the luggage down on the couch.

“Well, are you ready to go see some flowers?” you asked, turning towards him.

“Of course,” he grinned.

Gently, you took his hand and led him to the convention center attached to the hotel. As you crossed the threshold into the space, you took in his widened eyes and smirked. Oh, this was going to be good.


	10. The Power of Peonies

Unleashing Roman into the flower convention was like unleashing a child into a candy shoppe. For a moment, he just stood there in awe, visually overwhelmed by all the colors surrounding him in the brightly lit space.

Once the moment of shock was over, he looked at you. 

“Alright, I have a few vendors that I normally do business with to check out, and you’re welcome to come along, or you can explore on your own,” you told him.

His eyes widened, “I can?”

“Yes,” you chuckled, wagging your finger at him, “Just… try not to get into trouble, and don’t make any unnecessary purchases.”

Then, you split off to meet with your business partners.

Roman watched you leave with a sigh before turning his attention back to the convention, “Right. Well, Roman Sionis is about to _conquer_ this convention.”

He made his way around the outskirts, pausing periodically when something caught his eye. A flower here, an arrangement there. Along the way he learned more about the business than he ever thought he would. And then… he saw it: the convention’s main attraction this year. In the middle of the hall, stood an enormous dinosaur covered in flowers. He had never seen anything so grand or so delicate despite its size and stature.

“I must have it,” he murmured to himself as he walked closer to it, like a moth drawn to a flame. 

He looked around at the people manning the booth next to it, apparently set up for souvenir pictures.

“Ah, excuse me,” he called out, “How much for the dinosaur?”

“What do you mean?” One of them asked incredulously.

“I would like to buy the dinosaur,” Roman repeated, like it was obvious.

“I see…” A woman behind the table said, sizing him up. “And, what shoppe are you from?”

“Oh, just this little shoppe in Gotham,” he shrugged.

The woman’s eyes lit up, “You wouldn’t happen to be Roman SIonis, would you?”

Roman looked back and forth around him, suspicious. “Yes…”

The woman chuckled, “Your arrangements have become quite popular. Let me just… make a quick phone call.”

“Whatever you need to do,” he nodded, watching the woman step away out of earshot, but continue to cast glances his way.

As you were finishing up with your rose provider, your phone rang.

“Hello?” you asked.

“Hello, dear, it’s Amelia from Upstate Home and Gardens,” the voice replied.

“Amelia! It’s so good to hear from you. Are you at the convention?”

“Yes, I’m manning the photo booth,” she explained, “That’s actually why I called.”

“Alright…” you trailed off in confusion.

“Your partner is trying to purchase the dinosaur,” Amelia stated.

You looked off into the crowd like you were on _The Office_. “I see. I’ll be right there.”

Roman watched the woman hang up her phone and walk back over. “Well?”

You swiveled your head and spotted them close by, making your way over.

“Roman Sionis, what did I tell you before we split off?” you asked.

“Don’t make any unnecessary purchases,” he sighed.

You gestured to the dinosaur. “I think this counts as unnecessary.”

Roman shot Amelia a hurt look, “You told her?”

Amelia just shrugged and walked away.

“Darling, think about how impressive it would be in the shoppe!” Roman said.

“Roman, if we brought it back, we’d barely _have_ a shoppe. It would take up the whole space,” you laughed.

“But, I like it.”

“Then, we’ll take a picture with it, and perhaps you can make a smaller version for the front window when we get back,” you compromised.

He pouted, “Alright, darling.”

You shook your head at him. _Unbelievable_. The two of you took a photo with the dinosaur and thanked Amelia before continuing on your tour of the convention, but this time, you kept Roman with you. 

The two of you came upon the bridal bouquet section and you inspected the bouquets. A particular one with peonies caught your eye. Gently, you reached out to stroke the delicate petals. 

“Peonies,” Roman said thoughtfully, “They mean…. a happy marriage?”

“Mhm,” you murmured before pulling back.

“It’s a beautiful bouquet. Darling, why don’t you buy it?” Roman asked, picking up the flowers.

“Roman, I’m not a bride,” you said like it was the obvious answer.

He looked down at the flowers in his hands, murmuring, “What if you were?”

Your brow furrowed as he looked up at you with eyes full of hope.

“Roman Sionis, what are you saying?” you asked with an upturn of your lips.

“I… I suppose,” he started, getting down on one knee and holding the bouquet up to you, “I’m asking you if you’ll take these flowers and marry me.”

 _Marriage_. The events of your relationship flipped back through your head as you looked at this man in front of you. So much had changed. The two of you had changed. You were no longer naive, and he was no longer the Prince of Darkness. No, kneeling before you now in a pair of jeans, a dark v-neck t-shirt, and a blue jacket was your knight in shining armor. This was a man you could start a life with. This was the man you _wanted_ to start a life with.

“Do you always ask your business partners to marry you?” you asked, softly taking the bouquet from him.

“Only the ones that I fall in love with,” he said with a soft smile. “So, is that a yes?”

“It’s a yes,” you beamed. 

He pulled you in for a kiss, and then you turned back to find the booth’s owner looking at you with misty eyes.

“Oh, just take the flowers!” he said before blowing his nose into his handkerchief. 

You giggled, taking Roman’s hand first going to a jewelry store to buy rings, and then going to find city hall.

The clerk in the office gave the two of you a once over after Roman handed him his credit card to purchase the marriage license. The two of you lucked out where this town didn’t require a waiting period to get married once you receive the license. Then, you were shooed off to wait for the courtroom judge to marry you.

“Are you nervous, darling?” he asked, wrapping his arm around your waist.

“No,” you admitted, “I’m not. I’ve been sure and confident in our relationship for a while now. What about you?”

“I fell in love the moment I saw you across the club,” he said sincerely, “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

You were ushered into the room in front of the judge, who took in your attire. “A spur of the moment decision?” 

“Something like that,” Roman grinned.

“You two do realize that this is a serious commitment,” the judge replied.

“Of course! It was spur of the moment to purchase the plant, but we’ve had room in the garden for a while, if you will,” you said, giving an analogy.

“I see,” the judge nodded. “Well, do you have any vows?”

Roman took your hand in his and blushed, “Darling, you are the most formidable person I know. You inspire me to be a better version of myself. I promise to always love you, and to work on using my words when I’m annoyed. I also promise to not try and purchase another dinosaur flower display when I know it’s too big. You make me want to learn new things, and take chances. You took a chance on me, and I just hope you never regret it.”

“Never,” you smiled, squeezing his hand. “Roman, I wish I could give you the world, but all I can give you is myself. I hope that is enough. I promise to always be there for you, through good days and bad days. I never expected myself to fall in love like this, but when the conditions are right, sometimes things bloom when you least expect it. I vow to love you and the life we build together.”

The judge smiled at the two of you, “Now, to exchange the rings.”

The two of you slipped your new rings onto each other’s hands, repeating the well known “with this ring, I thee wed.”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride,” the judge smiled.

Roman pulled you close, surprising you by dipping you slightly as he kissed you. You could feel the smile against your lips and couldn’t help but smile back.

 _Mrs. Roman Sionis_. It had a nice ring to it.


	11. Sowing Seeds

The rest of the weekend passed by in a blur, but you certainly didn’t leave the hotel room after you returned from your elopement. That was fine with you, though, because you’d gotten done everything you’d intended to do before Roman tried to buy a giant floral dinosaur and impulsively proposed. No, you certainly enjoyed turning the rest of your weekend into a romantic getaway and exploring every aspect of your husband. It wasn’t as though you hadn’t done so before, but it was different, knowing that this man truly was yours and you were truly his. No one else would ever explore him like this again, and that thought brought a smirk to your face every time it flitted through your mind. You weren’t a possessive person, but there was just something about the phrase “my husband” that activated this part of you that beamed with pride that this man was yours.

* * *

The following days in the shop were great, especially with the baby floral dinosaur in the front window that Roman made the day after you got home. ‘Delilah the Dinosaur’ he had called her. That was his baby, and he rearranged and changed the water daily in order to ensure the longevity of the arrangement, although, as with all good things, they come to an end eventually. 

The day that the flower arrangement died was one that you’d never forget. It was a few weeks after the Flower Convention, and you’d been feeling sick off-and-on for days now. You weren’t quite sure what was wrong with you. Certain flowers sent you running to the bathroom and getting reacquainted with your previous meal. It made it incredibly hard to work, and Roman was getting worried about you. He turned his office into a haven for you, making you lie down after every episode to make sure you were okay. Normally, you’d wave him off, but you could sense that something was off with your body. As you laid there that morning, you flipped through your calendar app on your phone, trying to see if the conclusion you were coming to had any credence. You sighed, running a hand through your hair as you realized that it was certainly plausible. You were late. However, before you decided to make Roman a blue and pink flower display chock full of baby’s breath, you decided to take a test just to be sure. 

Briskly, you walked out of the store and down to the corner market to purchase the test. You wanted to have a definitive answer before Roman came to the shop that day. He was finalizing the sale of the club to Harley Quinn after giving her a month-long crash course in how to manage it. As you came back to the shop, you went straight back to the bathroom, locking yourself in while you took the test. They were the longest three minutes of your life, but in the end they confirmed what your body had already been trying to tell you. After splashing some water on your face and steeling yourself to somehow share the news to this man that had only recently married you, you went back out to the shop with the test behind your back to find pure chaos.

“Sir, I really don’t think we have to have a funeral for a floral dinosaur,” Penny was saying to Roman.

“It’s _dead_ , Penny, what else are we supposed to do?” he asked incredulously.

“Throw them in the trash like the other dead flowers,” Penny said slowly.

“But its _DELILAH_ ,” Roman shot back.

You sighed and shook your head, “I’ll take it from here, Penny.”

Penny nodded, putting up her hands in defeat, “All yours, boss.”

“Darling, we have to do _something_ ,” Roman sighed sadly.

“Romy, why don’t you just make a new one?” you softly suggested.

“Baby, it’s not the same,” he grumbled, “I can’t just make another baby dinosaur.”

“Well...” you trailed off, trying to work your news into the conversation, “What if you focused your energy on a different kind of baby?”

Roman grinned, playfully drawing you into him, “Sweetheart, if you wanted more attention, all you have to do is ask. You know you’re my baby.”

You wanted to facepalm. Seriously, you did. Take two.

“Would you be okay with another kind of baby in your life?” you asked softly, biting your lip as you waited for his reaction.

His brow furrowed in thought, “You don’t mean...”

You nodded. “Roman, I’m pregnant.”

The biggest grin grew on his face. “Darling, that’s wonderful!” he laughed in glee.

“Yeah?” you asked with a smile, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Yeah,” He beamed, pulling you in for a kiss. The shop melted away as you allowed yourself to momentarily be lost in the celebratory kiss.

“We’re going to have to turn the guest room into a nursery,” you smiled.

“Darling, I’d buy you a new house if you wanted,” he admitted, stroking your cheek. “Anything for the two of you.”

He rested his hand on your stomach and smirked, “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”

“I don’t know. What do you hope it is?” you asked with a grin.

“A girl. I don’t know if I could handle a miniature version of me. However, a smaller you I could handle,” he admitted.

“Are you saying you can handle me?” you chuckled.

“Oh, darling, I certainly learned to just go along with you instead of trying to handle you,” he grinned, “Which is why I know I’d do great with a mini you.”

“Want to bet on it?” you teased.

“I’m not a gambling man these days,” he chuckled.

“Nothing too bad. Just... whoever guesses the wrong gender has to change the middle of the night diapers for the first week,” you grinned.

“Oh, Mrs. Sionis, you’re on,” he smirked, kissing you softly. “But, be prepared to lose. Good thing someone as beautiful as you doesn’t need beauty sleep.”

“ _Smooth_ , Mr. Sionis, smooth,” you murmured, tipping up to kiss his cheek. “I’ll remind you that you said that when I’m the size of a blimp.”

“You’ll always be beautiful,” he said sincerely. “Carrying our child, just makes you even more so.”

A blush crossed your face at his words. You hadn’t expected to start a family so soon, but you were happy with the outcome. Your family tree was growing, and nothing could make you prouder.


	12. Fruits of Your Labor

As the weeks passed, you found yourself growing. One morning, you looked into the mirror while you were getting dressed and huffed at the fact that you were struggling to put on your favorite shirt, getting your arms stuck over your head.

“Darling, perhaps you should try something else?” Roman suggested gently after pulling the shirt off and placing it on the bed.

“That was my favorite shirt,” you pouted.

“It still can be. You’ll just have to wait a little longer to wear it,” he murmured, taking out one of your larger shirts and helping you into it.

“I’m the size of a blimp,” you sighed, turning sideways to see yourself in the mirror. “I may need one of those back-up beepers like on the large trucks when they go in reverse.”

Roman came up behind you and wrapped his arms around you, resting his hands on your bump, delighting in the feeling of your baby’s kicks against the palm of his hands. “I think you’re beautiful. After all, anyone who’s carrying a small human inside them has my full respect.”

“You couldn’t do it,” you teased.

“I certainly could not, but I appreciate and enjoy the fact that you can,” he replied, kissing your temple. “Another good thing has come out of this, though.”

“What’s that?” you asked, taking the bait.

“You actually take time off from work now. I know the shop is your life, but sometimes I felt like you were burning yourself out,” he replied.

“I suppose you’re right,” you murmured, thinking back to all the late nights you’d spent in the shop working to make sure an order got out on time. “Part of that comes from having multiple locations and more staff, though. It’s not all on me and my one store, now.”

“It’s still a benefit,” he replied, tugging on his own shirt before heading over to the room across the hall. He looked at the wide swaths of paint on the wall. “Have you picked a color yet?”

“I don’t know. I like the light green, but also the darker forest green is nice,” you murmured, coming to stand next to him. “I also... had a radical idea.”

“How radical?” he asked skeptically.

“What if we painted a mural?” you asked softly, a glimmer of hope in your eyes.

“A garden?” he asked, breaking out into a grin.

“Precisely.”

“I think the little one would love it.”

“Great. I’ll need some sky blue paint for the base of the top, and then I’ll use the light green for the bottom. We’ll go from there,” you grinned.

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled, going to work. 

Roman made you sit in the rocker in the middle of the room as he painted your base layers for you. When he was done, he swiped the sweat off his brow and stepped back. “Well, I guess my contribution is done. You know I am horrible at painting intricate details.”

You chuckled, “Oh, I know.” You remembered the one time you brought him to a paint and sip class when you first started dating. The most he could manage were blobs with ill-defined shapes. 

Getting out of the rocker was cumbersome, and then you surveyed your canvas before going in. Roman knew better than to disturb you when you were in the zone like this, and instead went into the other room to build the furniture you had ordered online. You barely heard his curses as he finished, finding he had extra parts and had to deconstruct everything and try again. No, you were so absorbed that you didn’t stop until he came in the room with a drink for you a few hours later.

“You need to take a break. You know what the doctor said about staying hydrated,” he murmured, kissing your cheek as he handed you the glass.

You took it from him, taking a step back to look over your work. It was coming along nicely. At the rate you were going, you would hopefully be done by the end of the day. It wasn’t anything overtly complicated. Well, it _was_ a garden, but the way you had painted it, in an almost _Alice in Wonderland_ style meant it was easy for it to fill the walls while also not looking terrible.

“Do you think they’ll like it?” you asked softly.

“Sweetheart, I think they’ll love it,” he reassured you. 

The rest of your day was spent finishing up and putting together the nursery. A part of you felt guilty that you had left it so long, knowing that you were due in a few weeks. By the time it was done, you were exhausted. After dinner, Roman tucked you into bed and settled on the couch. You fell asleep for a little over an hour, but when you woke up and Roman still wasn’t in bed, you went to check on him. He was sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery, just staring at the wall.

“You’re ruminating again,” you murmured gently from the doorway.

“I can’t help it,” he sighed.

You walked over to him and settled in his lap, resting your head on his shoulder. “Talk to me.”

He looked down at your protruding belly. “I’m scared I won’t be good enough. I know how hard my childhood was, and look how I turned out. I don’t want to ruin our child. What if I’m a terrible father?” He looked into your eyes, fear and tears rimming them, “What if they end up hating me like I hated my own parents?”

Your brow furrowed as you cupped his cheek, “Roman, don’t think like that. You’ll be a great father. Do you want to know how I know?”

“How?” he asked softly.

“Because of how you’ve taken care of me. You’re kind, and loving. You’ll do anything for those you care about. You’re going to be a great dad,” you reassured him, tapping his nose.

“But, darling, I have no idea what I’m doing,” he sighed.

“Neither do I,” you chuckled. “We’ll get through this together. I promise.”

“I love you,” he murmured, tipping your face towards his to kiss you.

You kissed back, smiling against his lips. “I love you, too,” you whispered when you pulled away.

“You should get back to bed, though,” he sighed. “You’ve had a long day.”

“Nonsense. You’ll still be up. I might as well keep you company. Besides, I’ll be up peeing most of the night anyway,” you chuckled.

He laughed with you, gently carrying you to the couch, “Alright, baby. We can watch a movie or something.”

“Do we have anything good saved?” you asked.

“Just that terrible Star Wars trilogy you insist is better than the original one,” he chuckled.

“I will defend the prequels until I die,” you said seriously. “Now. Put on The Phantom Menace.”

“I thought Revenge of the Sith was your favorite,” he smirked. “Something about how ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi could help you with your labor any day.’”

“He could,” you chuckled, “And it is my favorite, but I’d rather not watch a pregnant woman die in childbirth.”

“So instead we’re going to watch Liam Neeson die.”

“Precisely.”

He shook his head at your logic and put on the movie. You snuggled into his side, resting your head on his shoulder. When the scene came about where the protagonists resurfaced next to Theed, you frantically patted Roman’s arm.

“What? What is it?” he asked in concern.

“I.... I think my water just broke,” you replied with wide eyes. 


	13. Family Tree

Roman’s eyes widened. “You’re in labor?”

 _“No, Roman, I just peed on the couch_ ,” you groaned in frustration. “Yes, I’m in labor!”

“But the baby isn’t supposed to be here for another few weeks!”

“Well, tell the baby that!” you yelled, feeling the first contraction come on.

“Okay, okay,” he said, trying to keep himself calm. “What do you need me to do?”

“Get my overnight back from the closet, I’m suddenly glad that I packed it last week when I remembered,” you replied through gritted teeth.

“Right, right, of course,” he said, going to grab it. He threw it over his shoulder and returned to you, flitting around you a bit like a moth around a flame.

“We need to get to the hospital,” you said, trying to redirect him. You suddenly realized that you had to be the one in charge right now.

“Right!” he said before scooping you up and carrying you out the door.

“Roman, I can still walk,” you sighed, resting your head against his shoulder.

“But, baby, if you walked then people would see the fact that your bottom is wet,” he murmured.

You nuzzled into his neck. Of course, the man still had the mental capacity to think about taking care of you right now. You figured that he wasn’t as panicked as you thought. Roman carried you to the car before getting in and starting it. He drove to the hospital, going against the urge to break every traffic rule, simply because you told him to drive properly. When you got to the hospital, he insisted on putting you in a wheel chair and wheeling you into the birthing unit. When he was brushed aside by the doctors who took control of the situation, he looked a little upset, so you blew him a kiss.

He nodded. This wasn’t about him. This was about you, and your baby that was a month early for some reason. He watched as you were pulled into a room and set up in the bed. Your overnight bag was shoved into the cabinet as the staff hooked up IVs and different instruments to you to keep track of your vital signs. He paced in the hall, letting the doctors do their work without him being underfoot. When a doctor came out, he tensed up.

“Mr. Sionis, this isn’t to alarm you. It’s just standard procedure. If there were complications and only one of them could be saved, who would you rather we save?” the doctor asked.

Roman looked at you through the window, gutted. “You think there will be complications?”

“We may be in the 21st century, sir, but things do happen. We just need to know what to do if that happens,” the doctor replied.

He didn’t look at him. His eyes were focused on you as a nurse took your blood pressure. He’d given up everything for you. He sighed, turning back to the doctor. “Her. We can always try again, but I will never find another love like her.”

The doctor nodded, writing something down on his clipboard. Roman resumed his pacing.

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see him glancing at you every time he changed direction. You gave him a small wave, which he returned with an awkward smile.

“Doctor, when you’re finished, could you allow my husband in the room?” you asked.

“He’s allowed now,” the doctor replied. “I don’t know why he’s out there.”

You chuckled. _Classic Roman._ You gave him a little come hither movement and he quickly rushed to the door, but then slowed down on his way over to you, trying to smile.

“Baby,” he said, trying to be happy, but barely hiding his worry.

“Roman, relax,” you murmured, taking his hand and kissing it. 

“There are so many things attached to you,” he commented sadly.

You gave his hand a squeeze. “They’re just monitoring things. It’s nothing to be worried about.” You scooted over on the bed slightly to make space for him.

He settled next to you, wrapping his arm around you. Gently, he kissed your forehead. “I know you’re strong. I’m just…” he trailed off with a sigh.

“You’re worried about me,” you replied. “It’s okay to be worried. Just know that you’re stuck with me and I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

“I know, baby,” he said softly, kissing your cheek for a moment longer than normal. “I know I’m stuck with you. I’ll be stuck with you until the day I die if I’m lucky.”

Your face scrunched up in pain as another contraction hit you. They were getting closer together. The nurse came in to check on you, noting your progress. 

“Ma’am, I think its time,” she replied.

Roman got off the bed and sat next to you, keeping his hold of your hand as the doctor returned. The doctor settled in, talking you through the procedure. You pushed when he told you to push, until you noticed a frown on his face.

“Stop,” the doctor told you.

“What’s wrong?” Roman asked.

“The umbilical cord seems to be the issue,” the doctor replied. “We’ll have to do an emergency cesarean.” The doctor nodded to the nurses who began to unplug you from the devices, maneuvering the bed to roll you away.

“W-wait!” Roman called out as you were being rolled from the room. He ran to keep up, holding onto you as they stopped in front of the door to the operating room. 

“I love you,” he said, giving you a kiss before they rolled you away.

Roman paced the waiting room, thoughts and worries swirling through his head. What if you didn’t make it? What if the baby didn’t make it? What if he lost both of you? What if all his evil deeds were catching up with him right now and the price was his family? He sat down when he got weird looks for pacing, but his leg bounced with anxiety.

Roman waited. And waited.

Finally, the doctor came out in his scrubs. 

Roman sprang up to meet him.

“She lost a lot of blood,” he informed Roman.

Roman looked over his shoulder into the operating room. His heart sank to his stomach. As the door was closing, he heard the cry of a baby.

“Is that…?” he asked softly.

“Your daughter,” the doctor smiled, “I can already tell she’s going to be the type to do things on her own timeline. You and your wife will have a handful with her, that’s for sure.”


	14. Epilogue

Roman checked the time. It was getting late and he hadn’t seen any signs that she was gong to come down from upstairs anytime soon. Not that he was ready, either. He was still in his pajamas. But, it was going to be a long, hard day and he needed a drink to settle his nerves. After all, this day hopefully would only happen once. He wanted to make sure it was perfect. 

Roman took his drink and went upstairs. He peeked into the room, spotting a woman standing in a bathrobe, looking out the window with her hand holding the curtain open just enough that she could see down to the commotion below. A small smile grew on his face. _She just needs a nudge in the right direction to get her going_ , he thought. Carefully, he entered the room.

“Are you feeling nervous?” Roman asked as he went over to the window to look at the group below. Gently, he reached out to smooth a soothing hand up and down her back before squeezing her shoulder.

“Honestly, dad?” the woman in front of him said, turning to look back at him. “Yes.”

“What are you nervous about?” he asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“Well, for starters, you’re still in your pajamas and I’m getting married in an hour and a half,” she giggled.

Roman leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “Sweetheart, I’ll be ready in time. Don’t you worry.”

“I’m not worried for _my_ sake. I’m worried for _your_ sake. Mom will kill you if you’re late,” she teased.

He looked down at where you were outside, fixing the floral arrangements. “Let’s get you ready first. What do you still need to do?”

“Well, I was supposed to get my bouquet, but it fell apart on the ride over and now they’re all over the place,” she said, pointing at the vase in the corner.

“That, I can fix,” he smirked, putting his drink down on her vanity and pulling the vase over. He took the flowers out, placing them on her childhood desk before carefully arranging them. “While I do this, you should probably change into your dress, sweetheart. As much as I’m sure your fiancé wouldn’t mind you showing up in your underwear, I’d mind. That’s my little girl out there, and she’s going to be dressed.”

“Dad!” she gasped.

He gave her a look.

“Alright, alright. I’m going!” she giggled before heading into the other room to get dressed with her bridesmaids.

Roman slipped into a zone that was familiar and foreign all the same. It had been a while since he’d made a flower arrangement. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy it anymore. He looked over at a photo of him with you and your daughter at the zoo. She must have been about seven in the photo. A smile crossed his face. No, it wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy flower arranging anymore. It was just that something more important had cropped up, and as much as he enjoyed watching flowers grow, he enjoyed watching his daughter grow up more. He didn’t regret taking a step back from the shops to spend more time with her. After all, that was his princess. He turned back to the flowers, thoughtfully arranging them like you had taught him decades ago. It was nice, really. For the past ten years at least, he’d been strictly business with the shops, managing the accounts by day when his daughter had gotten old enough to go to school. He knew it was your least favorite thing to do, and he still had a head for numbers, so he had taken over. Yet, he always teased you saying that you had the fun side of the business. It wasn’t entirely true, though. His side was equally as fun for him since he got to make sure that you could do what you loved without worrying about it.

Footsteps creaked on the floor behind him.

“That was fast,” he commented.

“Dad, where did you learn to do this?” she asked, settling on a stool next to him. She watched his fingers work, entranced by the deliberateness of it all.

“Your mom. When I sold the club, I needed something to do, so she got me into floral arranging. You know,” he said, leaning in conspiratorially, “At one point, people came specifically for my arrangements, thinking they were better than hers.”

“That might be a slight exaggeration,” you said from behind them.

They turned to see you leaning against the doorway, watching them with a smile on your face.

“Hello, darling. You look beautiful,” Roman grinned.

“And you’re still in your pajamas,” you frowned. “Roman, the wedding’s in an hour!”

Your daughter shot him a look that said, _I told you so._

He shrugged. “There was a flower emergency.”

“Well, get dressed, please. We’ll need to start greeting the guests soon,” you told him before leaving.

He nodded, finishing the arrangement and tying it with a ribbon. Carefully, he handed it to your daughter. “A beautiful bouquet for a beautiful woman,” he grinned, kissing her forehead. Then, he started to leave.

She gently took it from him, looking over the arrangement. It was beautiful. He got to the doorway when she asked him a question.

“How’d you go from club owner to florist?” your daughter asked, looking up at him.

He paused, grinning softly at a photo of you in the hall. In a second, he replayed your relationship, seeing where he had come from, and where he was now. He’d tell her the story of it all, maybe. But… that would be a story for another day. Today, all he could say was simply: “A gardener taught me how to grow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with this! It's been a wild ride these past few months, but I'm honestly proud of how this came out. Thank you all for your support, and remember, it's never too late to grow.


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